First Impressions
by thunder3swords
Summary: After their fight at Fishman Island, the straw hats reminisce about how they all first met. Their recollections lead to some interesting outcomes. Based on all characters with a focus on ZoNa and FroBin.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own One Piece. I would like to thank the original author though for their talent and their creation of my most two favourite characters in the history of manga. **

**Author's Note:**** Well, here I am again! I just can't get enough. I seem to spend most of my free time writing. Luckily I have a patient and understanding partner! I guess there has been a bonus to being ill for the 2****nd**** time this year…working with kids has its downfalls but at least it gives me more free time. **

**I just want to give a huge thank you to anyone who may have read and commented or critiqued my other OP stories. You have all given me more confidence. I have to say though that I wasn't happy with the ending of my last fan fic 'Body Swap'…maybe one day I will go back and change it. In fact all my work needs tweaking…I will make changes at some point. **

**Please forgive me for any typos. I have been using a tablet to write and I don't think I will ever get used to touch screen. The number of mistakes are unreal! I read my work before I post it every time yet I keep seeing errors! **

**Well, enough of me going on and on…allow me to introduce my next ZoNa story…**

**First Impressions**

**Chapter 1**

Princess Shirahoshi watched the straw hat pirates in awe as they celebrated the achievements of winning their fight against Hordy. The party seemed like it would go on for days and nights without fail. She couldn't help but smile and laugh along with the members of the crew. She knew she had already formed an attachment to their captain and tried not to think about the time when she would have to say goodbye. She owed him so much already. He had saved her people, her life and her freedom and helped her to gain a new found confidence within herself.

Watching the rest of the crew dance, eat, drink and cheer with other fish men made her wonder if all humans were like this and what each of Luffy's friends has been like before they met their captain.

Nami saw the mermaid princess looking down at them fondly and could tell from her facial expression she wanted to say something. Knowing from meeting her at first glance that she was a timid and shy character, Nami decided to give her a helping hand.

"Are you okay your majesty?" the straw hat navigator asked as she approached the large mermaid.

Shirahoshi's eyes opened wider and a blush appeared on her face, she nodded and said, "Yes I am fine, thank you" she replied with her usual soft tone.

"Cry baby, look at this!" Luffy shouted from across the room. Nami and the princess raised their heads and saw the straw hat captain dancing on a table with chop sticks in his nose. Shirahoshi couldn't help but laugh as he was joined by the long nosed boy, tanuki and robot.

Nami shook her head, "Those idiots will never change" she sighed.

A stretched hand suddenly appeared in front of the two females. It held two chopsticks and Luffy suddenly said, "you try!" to the princess.

Shirahoshi blushed and went to grab the sticks out of his hand but Nami blocked her way. Sanji sent a kick in their captain's direction. The hand pinged back into place.

"Don't drag the princess into your stupid antics!" Sanji spat.

Nami turned away from the boys and shook her head, she looked up at the princess and said, "Don't do as he says. He may be our captain but he isn't right all the time"

Shirahoshi became embarrassed and looked down at the ground.

"Princess, my sweet, I have a nice refreshing drink for youuuu!" Sanji spun over in a daze and with hearts pounding from his eye sockets. Shirahoshi flinched away slightly.

"Baka" Nami gently hit the cook on the head, "don't scare her" she scolded.

Sanji snapped to his senses, "my apologies Nami-san, I brought one for you, too" he proceeded by handing both ladies a drink. He scanned around them for a second and then asked, "Where is Robin?"

"She is still in a meeting with the king about something" Nami explained, sipping at her drink. Sanji nodded as if in understanding and tucked the tray under his arm.

"Umm…I was wondering…" the sweet voice of the mermaid suddenly spoke up, causing Nami and Sanji to look up at her with quizzical expressions. "That is, can I ask you a question?"

Nami and Sanji looked at each other and then back at her, "Off course my princess" Sanji replied.

Shirahoshi's expression lit up and excitement began to flow through her.

"What is it you want to know?" Nami asked, prompting the princess again who seemed to have lost herself to her own thoughts.

"…can you tell me how you all met Luffy?" she asked. She was curious to know more about the human world but also more about her saviour. She wanted to know what sort of man he was and learn more about the people he called friends.

"What are you talking about?" Robin asked as she approached them.

"ROBIN-CHAN!" Sanji gave her his usual greeting, making space for her and Nami to sit down. Robin sat in a seat offered to her and placed her bag down on the floor.

"Thank you" she said as the cook tended to their needs.

Nami followed suit and sat down at a table with her friend.

"Princess Shirahoshi would like to know how we all met Luffy" Nami explained.

Robin smiled and looked at the princess. Her stunning blue eyes studied the giant mermaid for a second and were lost in thought. When she was met by an uncertain stare in response she broke eye contact and came back to her senses. She sipped her drink, "that could take some time to explain" she replied.

"What can take time?" Chopper asked as he approached them to grab a drink himself, he had grown thirsty from all that dancing.

"The princess wants us to tell her our stories" Sanji spoke up, sitting on a chair in between his favourite female members of the crew.

"A story?! Ooh I want to hear, too!" Luffy shouted, jumping over to sit on the floor by the others. Usopp soon followed them and sat down.

Having seen their companions gathering around together by the princess, Zoro, Franky and Brook all sauntered over as well.

"I was the last member to join the crew so I too would be interested to know how you all met" Brook pitched in.

"I was the sixth member of the crew so I don't know much either!" Chopper announced, clearly eager to learn more.

"Well then where should we start?" Sanji asked, looking at the princess.

"What did you all think when you first met Luffy?" Shirahoshi asked softly.

The crew looked at each other and smiled, "IDIOT" they all announced at the same time. Shirahoshi was surprised by this statement. She didn't know how to take it but when Luffy started to laugh along with his friends she realised it was meant fondly.

When the laughing subsided Nami looked over to Zoro. He returned her gaze with an equally sentimental one. "Well I wasn't the first member to join this crew" she informed them. They all followed her gaze over to the swordsman. He sat in a chair across from them with one foot rested on his knee and a tankard in his hand. He looked at the tankard and smiled, then looked over at his captain and turned his gaze to the rest of his friends.

Zoro was not good at telling stories but facts were something he could handle. He looked at an expectant princess and began to explain his experience.

"I was being held captive by marines and Luffy saved me" he surmised. They looked at him expectantly and blinked.

"Is that it?!" Usopp asked sceptically.

"More or less" Zoro replied, taking a swig of his liquor.

"Why were you a prisoner?" Shirahoshi asked, "Did you commit a crime?" she gasped and placed her hands over her mouth. She wondered what this dangerous man had done in the past.

Something hit Zoro on the head and he looked up at the culprit. Nami was sitting there with her arms and legs crossed and a foot tapping on the ground. She was clearly warning him and trying to force him to give more information. He glared at her.

"I remember now!" Luffy spoke up, "Zoro was on trial for saving a little girl!" he announced.

The others looked over at the swordsman and some smiles came to their faces. "Aww, the big mean swordsman has a thing for kids" Sanji teased. Zoro gritted his teeth.

"It's not like that!" he bellowed.

"Then explain" Nami retorted.

"Fine…I was trying to find a man and ended up on an island…" He started.

"So you got lost?" Franky asked, gaining an unhappy expression from the green haired man.

"That's typical Zoro!" Luffy agreed, laughing.

"You're one to talk!" Nami scolded their captain.

Zoro continued begrudgingly, "I became a pirate hunter in order to make ends meet…I eventually arrived at an island. The people had been good to me but the son of a marine decided to enforce some stupid rules. He tried to hurt this kid and I stopped him. To prevent the marines attacking the people I offered myself up as their prisoner."

"Wow, Zoro you are so cool!" Chopper announced.

"Yeah but they broke their promise" Luffy butt in, "they said if he survived after starving himself for a month they would set him free. But they were going to hang him anyway"

"WHAT?! How could they?!" Chopper and Usopp announced together.

"So cruel!" Shirahoshi gasped.

Zoro shrugged, "That's when this idiot came in. He said he would set me free if I joined his crew. Even when I refused he wouldn't accept it"

"That's Luffy for you" Sanji nodded, lighting a cigarette.

"You refused? Why?" Shirahoshi asked, wondering why anyone would want to turn down her hero.

"I was a pirate hunter and he was a pirate. I hated pirates. Besides, I had something I needed to do…when I realised I could still achieve my goal with this idiot I decided to side with him" Zoro shrugged.

"Did you achieve your goal?" Shirahoshi asked. Zoro paused as he lifted his tankard to his mouth and looked at its contents for a second. He remembered his fight with his master while trapped on that damn island for two years. The scar on his left eye started to burn in memory of it.

"Not yet" he said with a determined look about him. He gulped down more of his drink.

They looked around at each other, "So who was next?" Chopper asked.

Nami raised one of her hands slightly to indicate it was her, "Naturally these morons between them couldn't find their way in a room with one door, let alone sailing the ocean" she said.

"Oi!" Zoro protested.

Luffy laughed, "I wanted to find a musician first but Zoro decided we needed a navigator"

They looked at the swordsman. Nami herself was a little surprised to hear this statement. Zoro shrugged, "we were lost and hadn't eaten for days..." he explained.

"There's a surprise" Usopp muttered, ignoring the glare he got in return.

"So how did you come across Nami?" Robin wondered.

Nami tilted her head to one side, "Well Luffy kind of fell from the sky" she announced.

"EH?!" Chopper was shocked.

Nami looked over to her captain and the swordsman, "To this day I still don't know how that happened" she said.

Zoro looked at Luffy and asked, "Do you want to tell them or shall I?"

Luffy placed a hand on his head and grinned, "I got stuck"

"Yeah, our captain here decided to try to grab a bird to eat, but got caught in its beak" Zoro stated.

"Moron!" Sanji muttered. For once the swordsman agreed with the blonde cook.

"Yeah while this fool was busy being eaten, I tried to chase after him but ended up meeting some of Buggy's clowns and losing him…" he looked at Nami accusingly.

"It wasn't my fault those idiots fell for my trap" Nami muttered, pointing her nose into the air.

This got a few looks between their friends.

"Do you mean the Buggy the Clown that tried to kill Luffy that time?" Sanji asked confused.

"Yeah the one and only" Zoro confirmed. This caused Robin, Brook, Chopper and Franky to look at one another in confusion. Clearly something else had happened between these guys that they had missed out on. Chopper couldn't help but feel a little jealous over it.

"Nami tricked them and stole their boat" he added.

"How did you know it was Nami if you hadn't met her?" Shirahoshi asked, curious.

Zoro looked at the princess and then back to the girl in front of him. Nami looked at him clearly keen to know the answer too. "They said a beautiful girl attacked them who could read the weather" he shrugged, "I didn't know it was Nami until later".

"That's my Nami-swan" Sanji cooed.

"Anyway" Nami intervened, coming to her senses "While that was happening I had managed to steal the map of the Grand Line from Buggy but was being chased by some of his goons. Luffy just happened to be dropped by the bird right in front of them."

"Was it fate?" The princess asked, thinking this was some cool way of meeting a person.

"That's one way of putting it" Nami said with a bead of sweat hanging from her forehead, "well, seeing it as a good diversion I pretended Luffy was my boss. The idiots fell for it straight away" she grinned at the memory of her cunning act.

"Yeah that wasn't nice of you Nami" Luffy said as he recalled the event, "you tricked me and tied me up"

Their friends looked at them and Robin had a raised eyebrow, "why did you tie him up?" she asked.

Nami suddenly became defensive and raised her hands in the air, shaking her head, "It wasn't like that. Luffy wanted me to join his crew despite me telling him that I hate pirates and the only things I like were tangerines and money"

"Our captain is stubborn" Sanji agreed. They all nodded, remembering his attitude when they declined his offer initially too.

"I only wanted you to join when I found out you could navigate!" Luffy defended himself.

"You mean you didn't want Nami to be your friend straight away?" Brook asked.

"No, she was mean to me!" Luffy replied. He glared at the red head.

Nami tutted under her breath, "Get over it already. It isn't my fault you were stupid enough to fall for it! Besides, we won in the end didn't we?"

"Yeah, after I had to step in and save your ass" Zoro reminded her.

"Why what happened?" Chopper was keen to know.

Nami sighed, "I took Luffy to Buggy to pretend that I was surrendering to him and wanted to join his crew. It was a ploy to try to steal some Beli from him"

"And to save your own skin" Zoro interrupted. She ignored him.

"Anyway, I was in the middle of holding them to a drinking contest with the intention of stealing the key to Luffy's cage when they slept…I may not look it but I am able to hold my liquor well…but Buggy wanted me to use one of his cannons to kill Luffy…I suddenly realised he was serious. I didn't know what to do and then Luffy told me something that made me realise that I had to stop it"

"What did he say?" Usopp asked, looking at his captain.

Luffy stared at them blankly and grinned, "Can't remember" he announced. They all sighed and turned back to Nami.

"You lack the strength of that oath" she quoted him.

"What oath?" Franky asked.

"The pirate oath" Zoro answered. Nami looked up at him and nodded.

"What is that?" the princess had not heard this before.

"The oath to risk your life" they all said at the same time. Nami smiled.

"I suddenly found myself wondering what the hell I was doing and fought back, but there were too many of them and the cannon had been lit" she explained.

"I thought I was a goner" Luffy nodded, recalling the memory.

"What happened next?!" Shirahoshi asked, "How did you stop the cannon?" She started to lean over towards them eager to know more. Half of the group became covered in her shadow.

"Nami grabbed the flame and put it out with her hands" Zoro pitched in. Nami looked down at the old scars on her hands.

She looked up at him and gave a faint smile, "and that's when Zoro came on the scene. He saved my life" she recalled the memory of the burning sensation that forced her to scream out in pain and the fear that flooded through her as a horde of men ran at her to kill her. She had closed her eyes and gritted her teeth to prepare herself for the worst but it did not come. She heard a gruff voice behind her saying, 'all these men attacking one girl?' she turned her head around slowly in shock. Relief washed over her as he pushed the men back with ease. He turned to her and asked, 'did you get hurt?' Nami was still in a daze at the time and couldn't help but thank the gods for bringing this man to save her. It was all she could do to shake her head and thank him. She was even more shocked to learn that this man was none other than the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro. Learning that he was following the guy she had just caught made her even more confused. What the hell was a pirate hunter doing with a pirate? She had wondered, but soon came to the conclusion that they were both idiots when they ignored their own situation and fought the enemy.

The group watched Nami as she frowned in recollection of something, "I remember thinking that these two were hard to understand. Zoro was injured by Buggy and bleeding heavily but still insisted on lifting the huge cage that Luffy was in and pulling him to safety. Even then he didn't like to be told what to do" She sighed.

"That's typical Zoro" Chopper agreed, remembering all the times the swordsman ignored his instructions.

"So what happened next?" the princess asked.

"We fought Buggy" Luffy announced, "and Nami stole his gold"

"It was mine in the first place!…besides, I seem to recall you left half of it behind!" she pointed a finger at him accusingly.

"The people needed it to rebuild their town" Luffy defended himself.

"That's not the point!" Nami retorted, "We needed the money to buy food and a new ship" she explained.

"We got Merry for free!" Luffy stated, although the recollection of their old friend caused the group to become saddened.

"Thanks to Nami's directions we made it to an island safely" Zoro pitched in, trying to lighten the mood. "That's when we met Usopp".

"I believe it is now my turn!" Usopp announced, standing up and drawing their attention to him. The others remained silent and turned to look at the man before them, "It started on a sunny day. The Great Captain Usopp and my army of 8,000 men were doing our usual patrol around the island, to ensure that the people were safe" he announced.

"Wow, Usopp you had a pirate crew already?" Chopper's eyes showed stars.

Nami and Zoro shared a knowing glance, recalling the three little kids that followed their friend around. They chose not to say anything and let him have his moment. Zoro couldn't help but smile at the recollection of the fear on those kids faces though when they thought Luffy had eaten their captain. He tried to remember their names but struggled…wasn't one of them like an onion? He wondered.

"I spotted in the horizon a pirate ship. I went to great them like any captain would" Usopp explained. "In fear of my men and my incredible aura they gave themselves in…though off course being a kind captain I decided to show them around and be hospitable" he paused, "but then a fearsome thing happened" Usopp's tone changed suddenly to a more menacing one. "A terrible pirate known as Kuro attacked the village. He had been pretending to be the butler to the Great Captain's lover" Usopp continued in an exaggerated tone.

Nami raised an eyebrow at this and smiled at the confession their friend just made with regard to his feelings for Kaya. She recalled how Usopp would always go to her bedroom window and tell her stories of adventures he had made up just to cheer her up. As much of a liar as he could be, she had to admit the gesture was quite romantic.

"Who was she?" Chopper asked.

"Well, my dear friend, Kaya is a princess of a wealthy king. Her beauty is so great that man cannot lay eyes on her without becoming blind" Usopp exaggerated.

"So what did Kuro do?" the reindeer was completely hooked.

"He deceived her and tried to kill her, even though her father had taken him in and shown him kindness. All he wanted was to gain the money her family had earned through hard work. But I, the Great Usopp, saw through his plan and gathered my men together…with the help of Luffy, Nami and Zoro off course" he added the latter in response to his friends irritated looks. "The battle was awe inspiring. There were 10,000 men, but this did not stop us. We may have been out numbered but we succeeded!" He forced a hand up and punched the air to exaggerate his speech. He then went on to talk about how fiercely he fought of the enemy…making the other's work seem unimportant.

"Woow! You guys are so great!" Chopper was in a daze along with the princess. Robin raised an eyebrow at Nami and when she saw the roll of the eyes her friend gave she knew it was an exaggeration. Luffy just laughed.

Zoro glanced over at their navigator as the memory of him being pulled down onto the oil slick mud came flooding back to him. He could still feel her high heels on his back as she stepped on him like some kind of rug. He had sworn at that moment to get revenge on her for doing that to him. He suddenly remembered he hadn't done so.

Nami saw the swordsman staring at her with narrowed eyes. She chose to ignore his glare, having no idea what he was upset about this time. Nami recalled the events of that day clearly. She remembered how Zoro had stepped in the way of Usopp's shot to protect them from harm. As scared as she was of the enemy and as much as she wanted her treasure, she knew she wouldn't stand a chance without his help. Thinking on her feet she had jumped down to steal Zoro's swords back and give him back the advantage in the fight.

"Oh I remember now!" Luffy burst out, they all looked at him, and "Nami stamped on my face!" he shouted, pointing a finger at her. Nami had a bead of sweat appear as she grimaced.

"Honestly, out of all of that, that is the bit you remembered?" she sighed.

"It hurt!" he defended himself.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" she snapped, "besides you were the one stupid enough to be hypnotised then fall asleep after knocking yourself out with the main mast of the enemies ship!" she retorted. The others looked at them with confused expressions.

"You didn't have to step on my face!" Luffy continued to argue, like a dog with a bone.

"It's not like she could help it" Zoro pitched in, "She risked her life to get me my swords and was attacked by that weird guy. Your face was in the way" he retorted. It was probably the first and only time the swordsman would ever defend the navigator. He was grateful to her that day and liked to give credit where it was due. He watched as Nami rubbed her left shoulder in memory of her injury.

Luffy looked at his friend and blinked for a second, "Nami was hurt?" he repeated, hanging his head to one side as he tried to think. They watched as it slowly dawned on him and he remembered what happened. He looked at her and grinned, "My bad" he said. They all hit their heads with their hands.

"What is the point in having a brain if you don't use it?" Zoro snapped at his captain.

"So, long nose-kun why did you leave your crew to join Luffy?" Shirahoshi asked.

Usopp looked up at her with arms crossed and nodded his head, "Well, you see great princess, my men, as loyal subordinates as they were, needed to protect our people. I wanted adventure and when Luffy begged me to join their crew as their captain I couldn't turn them away!" he stated.

"Hey, I am captain!" Luffy protested. Shirahoshi laughed at their interaction.

"Was that the only reason?" Robin asked her friend, her gaze hinted that she suspected something more to it than that.

Usopp looked at her, "Well…you see my father is a pirate…Luffy said he had met him and he was a great man…Hearing this made me also want to become a warrior of the sea" he said honestly.

"Yep! You might even be a better sharp shooter than your dad!" Luffy announced.

"Really?!" Usopp suddenly became excited and his ego enlarged a great deal.

"I wonder what his father is like." Sanji thought out loud as he took a drag of his cigarette and blew out some smoke.

Shirahoshi smiled, "Wow so your father is a pirate?" she looked at Luffy, then Zoro and Nami, and asked, "What about your families?"

Nami's gaze suddenly became saddened. Zoro studied her for a second and decided to speak up for both of them, "Nami and I don't have any family" he replied.

"Oh, I am sorry" the princess responded.

"Don't be, it's okay" Nami answered with a smile. Shirahoshi knew all too well what it was like to lose someone you loved and to be a prisoner in her own home. Nami couldn't help but have a soft spot for the princess of Fish Man Island. "Now Luffy's family however…" Nami proceeded to tell the princess about Luffy's father and grandfather. The girl became increasingly shocked with the story.

Zoro sat and watched the navigator talk. He gulped down the last drop of his drink and tightened his hold on the handle of his tankard. Nami was putting on a brave face. She said she had no problem in helping the Fish Men and had accepted that not all fish men were bad people. Yet he knew there was still a part of her that struggled with the memory of the past no matter how much she tried to hide it. He lifted his head to look at the cook, "Yo, I need more booze!" he bellowed.

"I don't take orders from you!" Sanji shouted back in irritation. The pair stood up and started to engage in a brawl.

….

**A/N: I have to say it is a lot easier to write when you are writing about things that already happened. Yet I have read this several times now and keep making alterations. I don't think I can bear to read it again so I am just going to let you guys decide if it is any good. Please let me know what you all think so far. **

10


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own One Piece. I'm just a loyal fan. **

**Author's Note:**** Thank you for reading and reviewing! I was thrilled to see that within a short time of posting there were already people following and adding it as a favourite! I am honoured **

**First Impressions**

**Chapter 2**

Shirahoshi watched in stunned silence as the red headed navigator of the straw hat crew hit the green and blonde haired men to stop them from fighting. The swordsman and cook laid momentarily on the ground with their heads on the floor and their buttocks facing the ocean's surface. Sanji had hearts protruding from his head and muttered something about how sexy Nami was when she was angry. It would seem that he was the only one with that opinion at that point in time. Shirahoshi had seen this woman's temper before and couldn't help but feel some what in awe of her. Zoro and Sanji were some of the strongest members of the straw hat crew yet it only took one action from their navigator and they were defeated. Nami was everything she wished she could be; beautiful, confident and strong.

Watching their interactions made the mermaid princess wonder what roles they each had within their friendship group. Nami for one was clearly a leader and very smart. They relied on her a lot to get them to where they needed to be. Yet Robin was also beautiful and strong. She was a bit different from the red head. Where Nami was boisterous and short tempered, Robin was calm and mysterious. The maturity of the dark haired woman made Shirahoshi see her as an older sister or motherly type, whereas the unpredictable nature of the red head made her think of a younger sister.

Shirahoshi had always wanted to know what it would be like to have a sister and now she believed she had an idea. It was nice to have big brother's who looked out for her, but they never understood the needs of a woman and she herself didn't know her mother long enough to gain good experience or a role model.

"Right, where were we?" Nami asked the group as she sat back down, interrupting the mermaids thoughts.

Sanji came to his senses and started sorting out snacks and drinks, Franky gave him a hand.

Zoro sat up and remained on the floor scowling like a little child. He glared at Nami and she suspected his thoughts were probably related to taking her to hell. It amused her that for a man who protested to not believe in gods or feel the need to pray to them, he sure was quick to want to call the devil upon her.

"That's when we designed the pirate flag and Luffy and Usopp nearly killed Yosaku" Zoro muttered.

"Hey, I thought we promised to forget that!" Usopp complained, "Besides, it was an accident…I mean who in their right minds stops at a rock"

Zoro glared at Usopp, "What did you say?" Usopp backed down as he realised that Zoro never did take too kindly to his friends being insulted.

"I still cannot believe that you idiots didn't even understand the basic of basics when it came to food" Nami sighed, recalling their lack of understanding about scurvy and the importance of vitamin C. "I guess we have to be grateful to those two idiots though…if it wasn't for their lesson and direction we wouldn't have found the Baratie and met Sanji."

Sanji put his tray down. He sat on a chair next to Nami and placed a cigarette in his mouth, "It was like Nami was sent from the gods and the heavens opened their arms" he commented.

"Sanji…that was probably the hole that Luffy blew into the ceiling" Usopp muttered.

"Why did you do that?" Chopper asked their captain.

"A marine ship attacked us and Luffy bounced the cannon away from the Merry but it hit the Baratie. Yet instead of telling them it was the marines fault he was too honest and ended up having to work off his debt" Nami explained.

"That old geezer wanted me to work for him for a whole year!" Luffy chipped in.

"And a damn fine job you did of that!" Sanji retorted sarcastically. Nami, Usopp and Zoro nodded in agreement. Luffy was terrible at every task he had been given. He ate all the food, broke all the china and even as a waiter he tried to put bogies in Zoro's drink out of pure spite. Nami and Usopp smiled as they remembered how the swordsman forced the drink down his captain's throat.

"That marine guy…he was a jerk" Sanji added as he recalled the arrogant marine that had tried to impress a beautiful woman by placing a dead fly in his soup. It was such an insult on a cook's food. Sanji was not one for wasting anything and immediately took a disliking to the man, giving him a piece of his mind…in full and with tip. Sanji then turned to Nami and sighed, "I remember seeing Nami-san's stunning face and fell immediately in love" he announced. Usopp and Zoro cringed. They should have known he would have something to say about the women when it was his turn.

"The food was delicious" Nami recalled.

"Yeah it would have been for you, you didn't have to pay!" Usopp snapped, still bitter at the fact that Sanji ripped them off back then.

"So what made you join Luffy?" Shirahoshi asked.

"Well I refused his offer at first…I felt indebted to the man who had saved me from starving to death. But then Luffy helped save the old man's restaurant from Don Krieg when he attacked us…I guess I liked what Luffy believed in and was made to realise that if I followed him I may have a chance to see my dream come true" Sanji explained.

"That man was evil" Usopp recalled, "He showed no mercy even when Sanji went out of his way to feed him and his men when they were on the brink of death!"

"I didn't know any of this" Nami spoke up.

"That's because you did a runner and stole our ship!" Usopp barked.

Everyone looked to Nami with an accusatory stare. Nami shrugged, "I had something I had to do. You know that" she stated, "It's not my fault the two guys you left me with were so easily swayed"

Zoro gritted his teeth, _Why you…! _He thought, "You attacked my friends and abandoned us. As far as I was concerned you were a good for nothing thief and not worth our time" he snapped.

Now it was Nami's turn to scowl, "Then why bother coming after me?" she spat.

"Because our captain here wouldn't just let us walk away. He was adamant that he wanted _you_ as _his_ navigator" Zoro answered.

Nami gave a "humph" in response. She heard the way he emphasised some of his words and it bugged her.

"So was this around the time you got those bandages?" she asked, taking the attention back off herself and recalling the shock she felt when she saw the condition his body had been in when he fought Arlong. She felt guilty at the time. If she had known how severe his injuries were she would have ensured he see the village doctor. Yet the man had neglected his wounds and acted as if nothing had happened.

Her eyes watched the swordsman as he subconsciously ran a hand over his chest, his focus remained on her. He let a small wry smile appear on his face momentarily as her gaze lowered to his chest. When Nami's eyes met his she turned her head away quickly with a small tint of red appearing on her cheeks.

He noticed several pairs of eyes watching him expectantly, "While we were being attacked by pirates the man I had been looking for appeared" he explained, "Hawkeye."

This caused the older members of the crew to look at him in surprise.

"Who is that?" Chopper asked, still naïve to a lot of the world.

"Hawkeye is one of the Pirate Lords of the sea" Robin explained. "He rules part of the grand line and is known to be the greatest swordsman in the world"

Chopper's eyes widened.

"Yeah he cut Don Krieg's pirate ship in half with out breaking a sweat!" Usopp recalled with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Hmmm…but isn't that the man you trained with these past couple of years?" Brook asked. Zoro nodded.

"So he was the one who gave you that scar…and the one on your face?" the skeleton asked. Zoro didn't need to answer as it was obvious it was a yes. Instead he drank more from his tankard. There was silence for a moment.

"Um so what happened then bro?" Franky spoke up, uncomfortable with everyone sitting staring at the swordsman.

"Well, when Zoro lost against Hawkeye he was badly wounded" Usopp explained. Zoro grimaced. It was not a memory he liked to recall.

"Yeah Zoro cried and promised he wouldn't lose a fight again" Luffy spoke up. This statement immediately got the man's back up and he forced a hand over his captain's mouth in embarrassment.

"Zoro cried?" Nami thought out loud. She was honestly stunned. Zoro hadn't even shed a tear when they lost Merry. She had always seen him as being quite cold in his emotions…but if what Luffy and Usopp were saying was true, he clearly had more of a sentimental side than she initially thought.

"I still can't get over the fact you were so willing to throw your own life away like that" Sanji muttered as he blew out a puff of smoke from his cigarette. His comment did not go un noticed by the others and Zoro just shrugged it off. During his fight with Hachi he had come to the realisation that in order to beat Hawkeye he had to be just as abnormal and inhuman as the man himself. He had relied on pure will power to stay focused and not pass out. He had learnt from his fight that in order to surpass the man first he had to live.

"Wow, your dream must mean a lot to you to" Franky spoke up. Robin looked at him and smiled. Out of all the men on this crew he was the biggest cry baby there.

"Anyway, that was when Zoro and I then went with Johnny to follow Nami" Usopp tried to change the subject. He was there at the time and knew how close Zoro had been to losing his life. He had accepted his loss with grace. It was hard to be taught a lesson in front of his friends. It wasn't easy to watch either. Johnny, Yosaku and he tried their best to stitch him up but they were no doctors and as a result his wound didn't heal nicely.

"What about Luffy and Sanji?" Shirahoshi asked.

"They had to remain to fight Don Kreig and joined us later with Yosaku"

"I see" the princess said, still a little confused with the turn of events. All she understood from that was they had faced two enemies and Zoro had come out worse for wear as a result. She looked down at the navigator whose expression was fixed on the green haired man. She was clearly lost in thought and looked a little worried about something. "Nami…" the mermaid caught the girl's attention. Nami looked up at her.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Forgive me for asking but I was wondering why you stole their ship…was it because of Arlong?"

Nami gave Shirahoshi a forced smile and nodded.

"Nami-san…" Sanji started to try to reassure her but she raised a hand to indicate to him she was okay.

"At the time I was still a member of Arlong's crew. After he killed Bellamere he promised me that if I raised enough money he would allow me to buy the village and protect the people. I was stupid enough to believe him" she explained.

"Nami you were not stupid. Any one of us would have done the same thing to try to protect the people we love" Sanji reassured her.

"Thank you Sanji-kun…but thinking back, if it wasn't for you guys coming to find me I may never have learnt the truth about Arlong's deception and could still be working under him now" the possibility made her shiver.

"How did you get away from him?" Shirahoshi asked. She had heard stories about Arlong as a child and knew him to be a powerful and fearsome fish man.

"Well it wasn't easy. When I got back I had my work cut out for me in getting Arlong and his men to trust me again, especially when these guys turned up at their front door." Nami pointed to Zoro and Usopp. "How did you get captured so easily anyway?" she asked, looking at the swordsman. Zoro was in the middle of stretching Luffy's face with his hands for letting out the fact he had cried. One of Luffy's feet pushed against his face. When Nami glared at them the two men immediately separated.

Zoro coughed then pointed a thumb at Usopp who sat next to him, "This guy and Johnny left me tied up to the boat and Arlong's goons found me"

Nami raised an eyebrow, "why were you tied up?" she asked confused. She looked to Usopp for an answer.

"Um…well…it was for his own good. He wanted to draw too much attention by cutting his way in. We didn't know who we were up against and didn't want to risk it…besides we couldn't let him fight in his condition. He would have passed out" Usopp answered.

"Where were you?" Robin asked, paying close attention to their conversations.

"They ran off in fear and left me to be caught" Zoro answered. The others seemed to nod as if they expected such a response. This was something that disheartened Usopp slightly as he realised that there was still a part of him within that was weak.

Zoro looked at Nami and they shared a thought between them. "You can imagine my surprise when our navigator appeared by Arlong's side and boasted about how she used us." Nami frowned and turned from his gaze. He smiled cunningly, "but I knew she was full of herself the moment she opened her mouth" he continued. "Arlong claimed she was willing to forget the death of her mother for money. I knew from the look on Nami's face that it wasn't true. We hadn't been with her for long, but there was more to her than that. She may have been a crook, but she cared for other people, despite what comes out of her mouth at times."

Nami looked at him and was momentarily stunned. The others glanced between the two again, feeling some tension in the atmosphere. Zoro did not lose eye contact with her.

"So what did you do?" Shirahoshi asked in anticipation.

He shrugged, "I needed to be certain that my hunch was right, so I called her bluff"

This time Sanji, Usopp and Luffy were stunned. They had no idea that any of this had taken place.

"You were an idiot. Your hands and feet were bound. If I hadn't have jumped in the water and got you out you could have died!" Nami reminded him.

"I knew you would jump in after me" he stated confidently, "though I didn't expect to be punched in the gut for my efforts."

Nami scowled at him. He deserved to be punched as he had teased her at that moment and didn't give her a straight answer when she asked about his bandages. However, thinking back she had regretted hurting him when seeing the condition of his injuries. It wasn't until later that she realised that perhaps he may have said what he did on purpose so she was forced to do something…he had most likely been looking out for her that whole time.

"So how did you get away?" Usopp asked.

"Arlong put me in a cell" Zoro replied.

"How did you get out?" Sanji asked. The look the swordsman gave to their navigator did not go unnoticed.

Nami sighed and crossed her arms as she turned sideways in her seat to avoid his cocky smile, "I let him out."

"Hold on a second!" Sanji's tone picked up a notch. "Do you mean to tell me that even after Nami saved your life and let you go free, you still doubted her?" His statement caused the others to stare at the two men.

"Unlike you I don't judge a woman by her looks alone" Zoro defended himself.

"What?!" Sanji stood up, ready to challenge the man once more. Zoro chose to ignore him. He didn't need to explain himself to this idiot. His views of Nami were not his concern. She had tricked and deceived them. Even if she saved his life, it would take more than that to convince him she was a good person.

Robin had a hand placed gently under her chin and smiled at his words. The reactions from her friends during their reminiscing were proving quite amusing. She was learning things about them she had not known before. The power of observation was often underestimated.

"Sanji-kun, please …" Nami placed a hand on his arm and the man sat back down begrudgingly. She had no idea what happened between the guys while she was with Arlong, but it was in the past now. She was ready to put it behind her so they should too.

"Hmmm, well I guess it was around that time that I ran into Nami's sister, Nojiko" Usopp spoke up, deciding it best at that point to move on.

"I thought Zoro-san said Nami had no family?" Shirahoshi pointed out, clearly listening to every word.

Zoro scoffed and focused on his alcohol as Nami explained, "Nojiko is my adopted sister…she found me when I was a baby. Bellamere, my adopted mother, saved us and raised us as her own."

"So you don't know who your real family are?" the princess asked, slightly saddened by this tale, water beginning to fill her eyes.

"They were most likely killed by pirates when the village I was in was burnt down. Bellamere was one of the marines that tried to save us that day…to me her and Nojiko are my real family" Nami spoke up with a smile on her face.

The group were suddenly forced to jump out of their seats and move out of the way as large droplets of water began falling on top of them.

"Hey, cry baby, cut it out!" Luffy scolded.

Sanji grabbed his rubber mouth and shouted, "Don't call Shirahoshi a cry baby!"

"I'm..s..o..r..r..yyyy" she bellowed, "I c..a..n't he..lp it"

A hand protruded out of the princesses' shoulder and offered her a handkerchief.

"Tha..nk you" the princess sniffed as she took the fabric and blew her nose. The wind from her blow caused the straw hats to wince as their hair blew backwards.

"Are you okay?" Usopp asked, a little daunted by her reaction. She nodded and coughed a little, wiping the last of her tears from her face she said, "Please continue."

The straw hats looked at each other and moved their seats so they were not directly under her and out of harms reach. They looked to Usopp for him to finish where he left off.

"Okay…so um, the Great Captain Usopp fought against some of the fish men and saved the villagers from evil!" he continued.

"Usopp…get to the point" Zoro cut his friend off, he was no longer in the mood for exaggeration.

Usopp coughed into a clenched fist and then nodded, "well…Nojiko helped me out, but the fish men came looking for me and threatened the villagers. I didn't want them to die for my sake so I fired at them to catch their attention. That's when they caught me" he finished.

"So how did you escape?" Franky asked. Usopp shared a similar look with Nami as Zoro had done.

"I was definitely done for. Zoro had left a mess behind when he escaped and Arlong was mad. If not for Nami I would have been dead" he admitted, "although for a second there I honestly thought she was going to kill me".

Nami frowned.

"For a while we also thought you were dead" Sanji stated, "Zoro's friends told us they had seen Nami kill you…though to be honest we found it hard to believe."

Nami remained silent on the matter. She didn't see the whole ordeal as one of her finer moments but was also secretly intrigued to know what the guys were thinking when she wasn't there.

"Nami pretended to stab me and threw me into the ocean" Usopp spoke up, "but she actually stabbed her own hand. I was so shaken by the whole thing I didn't know what to do. All I could focus on was getting out of there as fast as possible and warning Luffy."

Nami looked at her left hand. The scar was still there on both sides. It had faded and healed well, but in bad weather it still ached a little. She felt Zoro watching her carefully and returned his gaze. He broke his eye contact when Sanji spoke up.

"Well I guess it was around then that Luffy and I met up with Zoro and found out Usopp was dead…well thought to be at least…but Nami then appeared before us like a ray of golden light…" he continued, slowly becoming lost in his own little world.

"Cut it out already" Zoro spat, "she only came to us to try to threaten us to leave" he turned and looked at her, "she didn't have faith in us and believed we were not strong enough to fight Arlong." He was clearly still bitter about her deception. Nami realised that the reason Zoro was angry back then was because he believed she didn't trust them and was trying to deceive them. He felt she would have sold them out to save her own hide rather than allow them to help…it suddenly dawned on her why he had tried to attack her that time…to knock some sense into her. She could feel her cheeks redden slightly at the thought.

"I knew Nami was innocent" Luffy pitched in.

"How?" Shirahoshi asked.

"Instinct" Luffy shrugged. The others smiled. Luffy had a knack for seeing the good in people. You were just drawn to him and he somehow made your worries slip away.

"Humph, yeah, this moron decided that he would take a nap until Nami came to her senses" Sanji spoke up.

Nami became flustered at the memory. She had tried so hard to protect them and their presence had been risking the lives of her people. She didn't want them to get involved in her affairs and felt guilty for betraying them. She had been certain that they wouldn't trust her afterwards and thought she was protecting herself from being hurt. Yet the stupid morons were too stubborn to do as they were told. She smiled again to herself. She was secretly glad that they were stubborn.

"Then moss head over there tried to attack Nami!" Sanji spat as he recalled the memory.

Zoro grunted, "I was fed up with her bull shit" he stated this as a matter of fact. The men shared lightning bolts between their eyes as they glared at one another.

"Well, not long after that I came back on the scene and Nojiko came to us to tell us about Nami's past" Usopp announced.

Nami smiled in gratitude at her sister's intervention.

"Luffy didn't stay to listen though…" Usopp continued.

"Why?" Shirahoshi asked, looking at the straw hat captain expectantly.

"You ask a lot of questions" he pointed out with a frown.

"Sorry" she retracted her statement.

"Zoro didn't want to listen either, he said he would but ended up sleeping" Usopp pointed out. Nami looked over at them both, it was very typical of Zoro to sleep through things, but she was surprised by what he said next.

Zoro shrugged, "It didn't matter. Luffy and I had already made our minds up about her, learning about her past wasn't going to change that" he saw the blush that appeared on Nami's face as she looked to her captain. He took another swig of his drink, his fist holding the handle in a vice like grip.

"Hey, you make it sound like we didn't trust Nami?!" Sanji got on the defensive again. This time Zoro ignored him.

"Anyway, that is when we learnt about what Arlong did to Nami's family and why she joined his crew" Usopp interrupted the blonde cook, growing irritated at his friends constant bickering.

"So where were you during this time?" Robin asked their captain.

Luffy placed his hands on his ankles and leant back, tilting his head in thought, "I went to look around the village…I met a strange guy with a pinwheel on his head…it gave me an idea for a new technique" he grinned.

"And a fat load of good that technique did for you!" Sanji jeered, recalling their captain getting stuck in the ground and ending up practically drowning. If it hadn't been for dear Nojiko then he would have struggled to save his stupid captain as well.

Luffy ignored him and continued; "Nami was trying to stop the villagers from fighting against Arlong. I didn't know what was going on and tried to help but Nami yelled at me", he stopped rocking back and forth and then looked over to his female friend, his face a little more serious. "Nami started to cry and stabbed herself in the arm…it was pretty hard to watch" Nami looked at him and bit her bottom lip, she held onto her arm where her injury was and forced the tears to stay back. _It's all in the past now, _she told herself.

Shirahoshi gasped, "What did you do?"

"I stopped her" Luffy shrugged, "then finally Nami stopped pretending and asked for our help" he smiled, "I always knew she was a good person and Arlong had probably done something to her…I hated that guy"

They all followed his gaze over to their navigator. She brought a hand to her face in memory of this event and wiped the tears away. She smiled and shook her head to be rid of all negative emotion, "That's when Luffy and the others saved me from my past. Luffy destroyed the place that had held me prisoner for so long and I suddenly felt like I had been set free" she surmised. She caught Zoro looking at her with an intense gaze again but he turned away the moment their eyes met, focussing instead on his liquor. She had no idea what that was about but decided not to let it bother her.

This time it was Franky and Brook's turn to start crying as they clung to each other and swayed, commenting on how wonderful friendship is.

"Humph, we were lucky" Sanji spoke up, "with our idiot captain drowning and Zoro doing a version of the living dead we could have been in a worse situation" he pointed out.

"Speak for your self" Zoro spat, "If I had been in better health I could have easily defeated those guys".

Sanji tutted and blew out a puff of smoke from his cigarette, "You still haven't changed from back then" he stated, "no matter how injured you are you don't stop…one day you will bleed to death." Although this seemed to come out in a negative way, the others knew that Sanji was secretly worried about the swordsman. Despite their rivalry they respected one another. As irritated as Zoro was with Sanji's flirtatious antics, Sanji was equally frustrated with Zoro's bone idleness. Neither knew when to give it up. Yet, recalling the events at Arlong Park also triggered Sanji to recall a later event he witnessed with the swordsman. Looking at him now and seeing yet more scars on his friends face bothered him more than he cared to admit.

"After that Nami joined our crew for good!" Luffy grinned.

"Not before stealing from everyone" Usopp pointed out.

Luffy laughed. "That's our Nami" Robin smiled. She understood perfectly well that Nami would have done this to make saying goodbye easier.

"So what happened with the money you raised Nami?" Franky asked.

"I left that with my sister and the rest of the village. Arlong and his men had damaged a lot." She explained with a smile.

"Hmph"

Nami turned to the swordsman and looked at him with an irritated expression, "What?"

"Your philosophy on money is twisted" he grunted. A few of their friends nodded in agreement.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You take what you want from who you want, rack up bills that make no sense but then give millions of Beli over to people in need without a second guess" he shrugged.

Nami studied him for a second before replying, "I give money to people who deserve it" she spat, "if you want money from me you need to earn it"

"Nami-san is so sexy when she is greedy" Sanji swooned. The rest of the crew laughed. Everyone knew that Nami was not as selfish as she may appear.

Shirahoshi clasped her hands together and laughed along them. She was amazed at such a heart warming story. Luffy had saved four people and gained their trust and respect as a result. His kindness had formed their loyalty. It was incredible. She realised quickly that she had become addicted to their stories and wanted to know more.

"Is that when you went to the grand line?" she asked eagerly. Luffy grinned, "yep" he replied.

"You are forgetting one thing" Nami pitched in. Luffy looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "The time you almost died…" she prompted.

"Oh yeah!" he sat upright, "That's when I got my first bounty!" Nami hit her face with the palm of her hand. Sometimes her captain had a mind of his own.

Nami looked at the princess and started to explain what happened while they visited the island of Loguetown.

….

**A/N: Well how to summarise around 100 chapters of the manga within 20 pages…I hope you liked it. **

**I am very much aware I am doing a skim over on some scenes so if there is anything in particular you would like me to give more focus on then please let me know. **

**Please Review! **

11


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own One Piece. Just a fan. **

**Author's Note:**** Thanks to everyone again! I can't believe how fast this is flowing out of me! It is easier when you have the story already set in place. Making the straw hats talk about their adventures is a good way to get to see a little more insight into their thoughts and feelings at the time and in hindsight. **

_**Note: I am purposely not detailing all the fight scenes and enemies they came across as I would be here forever. Please just assume that when they mention someone and summarise that they have given the princess more information (like a flashback!). **_

**Okay moving on…**

**First Impressions**

**Chapter 3**

Shirahoshi was glued to the straw hats every word. The excitement was evident on her face. She almost felt as if she had been on the journey with them this whole time and envied their experiences. Although it was scary at times, and they risked their lives, it also sounded like they had so much fun.

"We each went our separate ways when reaching the town. We needed to get supplies ready for our journey to the grand line" Nami explained.

"and I wanted to go to see where Gold D Roger spent his last moments!" Luffy butted in.

"That's when we met that Smoker guy for the first time" Sanji recalled, then added; "He was a captain of the marines and a devil fruit user like Luffy"

Zoro sat back in his chair and remembered his first meeting with Tashigi. Even now the thought of that woman irritated him. She looked too much like Kuina and acted in a similar way to his childhood friend, which just added fuel to the fire. He couldn't be too sure what it was exactly that bugged him, except for the similarity. Well, that and the fact she made assumptions about him that were unjust. Despite that though he knew that he would likely meet her again and would have to fight her for real one day. He had to give her credit though, her knowledge on swords was renowned. If not for her he would never have gotten two great quality swords for free; Kitetsu and Yubashiri. She had also taught him the name of his treasure, Wadou Ichimonji. He looked down at the blade at his side and rubbed the hilt subconsciously.

"Buggy managed to catch Luffy though" Usopp pointed out, cutting into Zoro's thoughts.

Luffy grinned, "Yep I was sure I was dead" he laughed.

"That reminds me…that woman…she was a real beauty" Sanji swooned, he turned to Brook and pulled the older man's collar to get him closer, "she ate the slim slim fruit…everything washed off her body…she was…" His description came to a quick end after Nami had kicked the leg of his chair, causing him to fall on his face.

"Nami, my sweet, there is no reason to be jealous…" Sanji swooned, gaining a sigh from all of his friends. Nami was definitely not jealous, she just wanted him to shut up.

"Why don't you tell Shirahoshi how you escaped" Nami offered.

The men looked at one another and then spoke at the same time - Zoro; "Luck", Sanji and Usopp; "Divine Intervention"

Sanji looked at the princess' bemused face and tried to explain, "A storm suddenly appeared from no where and a strange coloured lightning hit the execution stand, causing it to collapse, freeing our dumb captain. With smoker chasing Luffy we were lucky to make it to the ship in time"

"That's when my dad came and helped me…" Luffy grinned.

"Not that we knew it was your father at the time…we learnt that a lot later" Nami finished.

Robin was interested to hear this part of the conversation. It was evident to her that her younger friends still had no knowledge of the real power Dragon has. She almost felt guilty having spent so much time with Dragon and his men over the past two years when Luffy had only met him once and fleetingly at that. However, she was not able to contribute or help them understand the situation they had described due to being held to an oath. Under no circumstances was she to reveal the truth to Luffy. Dragon would do that himself one day. He was his son after all…

"Have you not met your father before?" Shirahoshi asked Luffy. She couldn't imagine not knowing her own father. It was bad enough growing up without her mother.

Luffy shook his head, "My grandpa raised me. I spent most of my time training with Ace and Sano".

Nami explained for the mermaid, "Ace was like a brother to Luffy"

"I see…" The princess didn't want to pry further as she understood the use of past tense and the thoughtful expression that came to Luffy's face. Instead she tried to move on, "So was this when you went to the grand line?" she asked.

Nami nodded "We found reverse mountain, although not everyone believed me about that at first" she directed her gaze over to the swordsman, he knew that smug look and purposely ignored it. "It took us accidentally ending up in the calm belt and having a close encounter with sea monsters for these idiots to agree that you couldn't take that route" she concluded.

"Those sea monsters were huge!" Luffy recalled.

Brook's head suddenly shot up and he put the china cup he held back into its saucer. "Is this when you met Laboon?" he asked.

"Yep!" Luffy laughed.

Nami tried to explain to the princess the situation at this point as she was the only one in the group who had not heard the story. "You see, Laboon is a whale. He blocked the exit into the grand line. We thought he was a mountain but soon realised he wasn't. He had scars all over his head from where he had been bashing the red line repeatedly…Laboon was one of Brook's friends before he became a skeleton. But their crew never made it back and Laboon was grieving…" Nami looked over at Brook who had tears in his eyes. He was being consoled by their doctor.

"Our captain here decided to shoot a canon at the poor guy and picked a fight with him instead of trying to help us steer out of his way" Zoro pitched in.

"Is that true Luffy?" Brook asked, suddenly seeing his captain in a different light.

"He broke my special seat!" Luffy defended himself.

"It was your fault!" Usopp, Zoro, Sanji and Nami snapped at the same time.

Nami let out a deep breathe to control her irritation before continuing, "because of our numbskull captain's actions we were swallowed by Laboon".

"Yeah…isn't that when we met the old geezer with a flower for a head?" Zoro asked.

"I believe his name was Crocus" Sanji recalled, he looked at the princess mermaid, "he was a doctor who lived inside Laboon to treat his injuries" Shirahoshi nodded in understanding.

"Isn't that also the first time we met Vivi?" Usopp asked.

"Really?" Chopper was excited by this news. After all, he and Robin were the only two other members of the crew that had come across her.

"Who is Vivi?" Brook asked.

"Vivi is a rare beauty from the desert island of Alabasta!" Sanji sung as he recalled her long flowing blue hair and soft smooth skin, "a stunning princess, like yourself" Sanji looked at Shirahoshi as he said this.

"Like me?" the princess asked, a little dazed and also a little envious. It seemed like the crew were fond of this Vivi.

"Off course we didn't know that at the time" Nami pointed out, "Vivi was pretending to work for Crocodile as Miss Wednesday" she looked over at Robin.

"Yes Miss Vivi worked under us at Baroque works" Robin verified this fact.

"Did you work for them too Robin?" Shirahoshi asked.

Robin nodded; "I am sure Nami will get to that soon" she reassured the princess, cautious of how easy it was to go off on a tangent.

"If I recall, didn't Luffy hit Vivi when they first met?" Usopp asked.

"Wasn't that at Alabasta?" Chopper interrupted.

"No…that isn't the time I am thinking of" the sharp shooter turned to their captain for confirmation.

Luffy rubbed the back of his head and thought for a second, "They were trying to shoot Laboon and the old man, so I knocked them out…I didn't know it was Vivi" suddenly their captain's grin wasn't as prominent as usual for he too seemed to have done something that he wasn't proud of.

"Even when the old man helped us out of Laboon and told us about his crew abandoning him, we couldn't have predicted what our captain would do" Sanji spoke up.

"Why what happened?" Shirahoshi asked.

"He beat him up" Zoro, Nami, Sanji and Usopp spoke at the same time.

"Whaaaat?!" Brook shouted out in shock and sadness. Franky placed a hand on the older man's shoulder and pushed him back in his seat.

"Honestly, you have heard this story already and you still over react to that part" the cyborg commented.

"Luffy managed to convince Laboon that he was his new rival and painted our flag's emblem on Laboon's head to prevent him from bashing it on the red line again" Nami smiled. The others followed suit. Their captain had really taken them all by surprise that day. He was smarter than he looked.

"You said the old man told you that Laboon's friends had abandoned him…" the princess looked at Brook, "but that wasn't the case was it?" she realised.

Brook nodded then proceeded to fill the princess in on what happened to his crew and how he became a skeleton. The princess started to cry again, Sanji and Franky lifted umbrella's up to prevent Robin and Nami from getting wet.

"That was when we learnt about the extreme weather in the grand line and discovered the truth about Baroque Works" Nami continued after taking a casual sip of her drink. "Not long after that we arrived at an Island called Whiskey Peak…Mr 9 and Miss Wednesday, had asked us to take them there."

"Those people were so nice!" Luffy recalled.

"The women were hot, too" Sanji pitched in.

"They welcomed us with open arms" Usopp smiled.

"…honestly you three are still so naïve" Zoro cut them up, "they were trying to con us from the start"

"Whiskey Peak was one of the base units for Baroque Works. Their role was to greet all new pirates to the island and then capture them. When we learnt that Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter, and the infamous Monkey D Luffy were on their way we couldn't just let you go" Robin announced with a mischievous look on her face as she explained it to the mermaid princess.

Zoro grunted, "While you all slept I was busy cleaning things up" he moaned.

A light cough came from Nami's direction and she looked at the swordsman, "If I recall you weren't the only one who noticed it was a trap"

Zoro frowned, "It's not like you were willing to help out though was it?"

Nami shrugged, "What was the point when you clearly had it all under control…besides you seemed to be enjoying yourself" she grinned. This shut Zoro up. She was right off course. He had enjoyed the opportunity to try out his new weapons and had grown excited at the lightness of Yabashiri and sharpness of Kitetsu. He was able to make easy work on the 100 bounty hunters, not to mention the ones with the weird names. But during this joyful moment Nami turned up and began to tease him. She purposely made it so he was indebted to her and then got him to do her dirty work for her. He hated being used, yet at the same time he couldn't just let the guys do as they pleased. Although Vivi wasn't really his concern, at the time he knew that if Luffy was there he would have wanted them to help and Nami knew that. She knew he wouldn't say no to someone in need and she used that fact to her advantage. Sometimes that woman really wound him up the wrong way. Nami caught his stare and grinned.

"We found out then that Miss Wednesday was in fact Vivi, the princess of Alabasta" Nami directed this comment to Chopper. "After we helped Vivi to defeat more members of Baroque works…" Zoro coughed and cut her off.

"What?" she snapped.

"There was no 'we'" he pointed out. Nami crossed her arms and leant back in her seat.

"Do you want to tell the story then?" she asked, thinking he would back down, but he didn't.

"There was a weird guy whose boogers were like bombs and some woman who increased her weight…I still can't believe Nami forced me to cut a bogie with my sword" he muttered, going off on a tangent as he recalled the events at that time.

Robin smiled at the man's comment. It was clear that Nami could never force Zoro through strength so there must have been something else holding him. It turned out she was not the only one thinking on the same wavelength.

"Bro, how did Nami make you do it?" Franky asked, recalling a painful experience of his own and wondering if it was similar.

Zoro looked up at the cyborg and then at Nami, "That witch over there claimed I owed her interest for the money she lent me to buy new swords…despite the fact that I didn't spend any and gave it all back to her!" His friends all gritted their teeth and shook their heads, sighing in the process. You never borrowed money of Nami if you could help it. Zoro unfortunately had to learn the hard way.

"I don't remember this" Luffy spoke up.

"That's because you were too busy sleeping and accusing me of betraying everyone!" Zoro snapped.

"Hehe" Luffy laughed with a hint of guilt as he remembered fighting Zoro under false pretences, "yeah sorry I attacked you" he said.

"Eh?" now it was Usopp and Sanji's turn to be surprised. They had not fully understood what happened at the time although Nami had knocked some sense into them. Yet this was the first time they heard that Luffy and Zoro had fought one another. "So who won?" the cook asked, assuming it would have been Luffy.

"We never finished the fight" Luffy spoke up.

"Why not?" 

Luffy and Zoro immediately pointed at Nami and everyone's gaze followed their hands. Nami just shrugged it off, "Someone had to stop them. These idiots almost lost us a lot of money and had seemed to forget the fact that the enemy was still lurking around while they were busy fighting each other"

"Nami is so cute when she is authorative" Sanji commented with a sigh. He was ignored.

"What happened to Vivi?" Chopper asked, looking back at the swordsman.

"She joined forces with us…she was a confident and brave woman" Zoro commented, recalling his impressions of the princess. Nami looked at him when he said this and was surprised at the pang of jealousy she suddenly felt. Vivi was the only woman she knew of that he had complemented in such a way. It made her wonder even more what he thought of her and Robin then. Nami was the opposite of Vivi with regard to courage…she knew she lacked it at times…although she could be reassured by the fact she was not as much of a coward as Usopp. He was definitely the holder of that title.

"Igaram, Vivi's advisor, asked us to take her back to her home land and then sailed off as a diversion…that is when we met Robin" Nami cut in.

She could feel the eyes of the swordsman watching her and suddenly felt the need to break some tension between them. She sent a wink his way and stuck out her tongue slightly, but did not expect that this small act would result in him falling from his seat in shock. His face ended up a little red.

"Um, Zoro are you okay?" Usopp asked. Nami laughed to herself. _I swear she will have a nasty death, _Zoro thought as he picked himself up of the floor and sat back on his seat with a thud. Luckily no one else had noticed. The others chose to focus their attention on the raven haired woman.

Robin smiled and lent back in her chair, "I had been requested to keep a close eye on you all and had come to learn quite a lot about you…I was curious to know more about the straw hat captain I had heard so much about." She looked at Luffy with a smile.

"I found it hard to figure out if you were a good guy or a bad guy, then you took my hat without permission" Luffy added. The others were not surprised by his reason or logic…if you could call it that.

"Yes, you were all quick to judge and point your weapons at me" Robin confirmed.

"Were you their enemy then?" Shirahoshi found this difficult to believe.

"At the time yes, Robin worked directly under crocodile" Nami acknowledged. "But she tried to help us find a fast route to Alabasta; however our captain here decided not to trust her…"

"Hey Robin…" Luffy caught his friend's attention and ignored Nami's statement.

"Yes captain?" she asked.

"Where did that huge turtle go?" he asked out of the blue.

"Geez Luffy, your mind is so warped!" Nami spat.

"I set him free" Robin smiled.

"You didn't have to answer that Robin!" Nami sighed.

Robin smiled, "I don't mind. I was surprised by Luffy's determination and was curious to see where his path would take him…I secretly hoped he would be able to stop some of the Baroque works men as it would make my role that much easier. That is why I gave you the warning about Little Garden. I knew he would want to explore it."

"Ooh can I tell the next part?" Usopp jumped in. Robin nodded. The group sat and listened to Usopp's version of events on the jungle like island and their meeting of the two giants from Elbaf. Chopper, Brook and Shirahoshi were excited by this news.

"Were they the same size as the giants we met at Enes Lobby?" the little doctor asked. Usopp nodded and grinned, "Yep"

"Wow, I wish I could have met them"

"Yoohoohoo what a tale" Brook started singing along with Usopp, Chopper and Luffy with a song about brave warriors of the sea.

Franky had a hint of a tear in his eyes "their fight for pride truly sounds honourable" he sniffed. Usopp joined the older man along with Luffy and Chopper in singing a little song about the giants that Usopp did a great job in making up.

"I still can't believe I fell for that trap" Nami thought out loud.

"That wax was tricky" Zoro agreed and nodded.

Nami looked up at him. "I also can't believe that you tried to cut your legs off in order to free yourself"

"You still going on about that woman?" Zoro sighed

"Something like that isn't easy to forget!" Nami snapped, "Your stupid idea could have cost us dearly…not to mention the amount of blood. It was horrible to watch"

"Then you shouldn't have looked" he replied, getting her back up again.

"Pretty hard not to when you were standing right next to me trying to strike some stupid pose!"

"I told you, I wanted to look cool if I got stuck like that" he shrugged.

A temple throbbed in Nami's head, "To look cool? Was that really all you could think of at that moment? You really are an idiot"

"What was that?!" Zoro now leant forward in his chair ready to yell back.

"You heard me. Honestly if it wasn't for Luffy and Usopp at that time we would have been made into candles. What moron cuts his own legs off just to get in a hit on the enemy? Did you ever think of the implications?" for some reason she couldn't let it lie. Their little argument caught the attention of the others. Nami felt a hand on her shoulder but did not look at it.

"Nami-san, ignore the stupid moss head. Do not let him anger you. Once an idiot always an idiot" Sanji spoke softly, glaring at the frustrated swordsman across their way. Nami's shoulders slumped, the cook was right. Why had she gotten riled up about it? For some reason the recollection of the past caused her to re live emotions at a stronger level than before. She shook it off and accepted a drink from the blonde man and chose to remain silent for a while. Usopp continued to tell his tale and how he and Luffy fought off Mr 3. When he finished Sanji explained to the princess where he was at the time.

"So Sanji managed to deceive Crocodile into thinking that you were all dead?" Robin asked, "I wondered what happened"

"Hey Usopp, you forgot to mention something" Zoro called out. Usopp looked at the swordsman, "Who won the competition" he said with a grin.

Sanji watched Zoro, "You still on about that? Mine was definitely the biggest"

"I beg to differ" Zoro spoke up.

"Urgh, what idiots" Nami muttered. She turned to look down at Chopper who was standing by her feet and tugging at her jeans.

"Nami wasn't Little Garden where you got taken ill?" he asked. She knew the keen expression on his face was not related to her illness but rather to the fact she was now coming up to the part about their encounter with their doctor.

Zoro looked up at Nami and Chopper when he heard what the little guy said. He remembered seeing her scratching at her waist after they were freed from Mr 3's wax cake. She had claimed she was alright, it was just some insect bite, but looking back he wished he had taken it a bit more seriously. He couldn't help but wonder if he had managed to cut them out of the wax earlier if it would have prevented her being exposed. But then again, without Nami being ill they would not have taken an alternative route to Alabasta to find a doctor.

"Nami-san, you were sick?" Shiarhoshi asked with concern on her face.

"Yes she was…they were lucky they found Dr Kureha and me when they did. Nami could have died!" Chopper pitched up.

"We were very worried about Nami-san" Sanji stated, "No matter what food I cooked for her it didn't seem to make her any better. The rest of these idiots were no help at all." Sanji remembered how Luffy and Usopp had panicked that Nami was going to die. When Vivi asked them about a doctor they had pointed to Nami as she was the only one in the crew who had some basic medical knowledge. Luckily Vivi was on board with them and able to help take care of her without any huge repercussions.

"Nami-san was so incredible, even when ill and on the brink of death she managed to save us from a cyclone and keep the ship on course!" Sanji cooed.

"and I thought I was the one who exaggerates" Usopp muttered.

Zoro watched and listened to his friends from outside the circle. He did not play a big part in them finding Chopper and had stayed to watch the ship instead. Yet his gaze fell on Nami once more as he recalled how worried everyone had been about her being sick. He didn't see the point in panicking at the time. He was no doctor, but he assumed with some sleep that she would pull through. After all, that is all that he needed to do to recover from an injury…It wasn't until after they met Chopper that he realised just how life threatening the illness was and how naïve he had been.

He remembered standing in Nami's room with Luffy. He had felt guilty after Nami had collapsed saving them from the cyclone that he had led them straight towards. He recalled how impressed Vivi had been on how Nami was able to detect the weather and found himself wondering if she could feel it with her body. He stood watching over her and covered for their captain when he impatiently wanted to see the new island. He had glanced down at her the moment Luffy left the room and saw how red her face was. Her eyes were closed tightly and she was frowning in pain. Her face was covered in sweat and when he gently placed a hand on her forehead he was surprised how burning hot she was to touch.

She had opened her mouth and tried to talk whilst in her feverish state. He remembered the name she had called out, "Bellamere". He remembered feeling shocked and uncomfortable as a tear fell from her eye. Instinctively he reached out a hand and caught the tear on his finger. He didn't like to see her so weak. This was not the Nami he knew. He secretly wanted her to open her eyes and yell at him again. Her breathing pattern then changed. He sat down on the chair next to her bed and stared at her. For how long he did not know. He just needed to make sure she was breathing. He hadn't seen anyone sick before and having never been ill himself he didn't truly understand what she was going through. It was at that point he had realised something…he was worried about her.

"I learnt a lot from Vivi that day" Luffy spoke up, remembering how Vivi had taught him about negotiation and how violence isn't the solution to every problem.

"Yeah she was a strong woman" Zoro agreed, breaking free of his thoughts and joining in on their conversation once more. Vivi had definitely been good for the crew. Her nobility and generosity as a ruler was respectable. She fought honourably and as a result gained Zoro's respect quickly.

"I miss her" Luffy suddenly announced. His face became sad and sullen.

"Me too" said Chopper. Usopp, Sanji and Nami were not far behind in their pathetic expressions.

"Get over it already, she made her choice" Zoro scolded them. As much as he thought they should have just dragged her on board back then, he also knew that she had a kingdom to rule. Besides, if Luffy were to become king of the pirates and be up against the world government some day then he would need as many allies as he could get his hands on. Vivi, being the ruler of an entire country, could prove to be a vital asset to them.

"Anyway, as I was saying" Sanji cut in, "with Nami sick, Luffy and I climbed up the mountain to find the Doctor to heal her…it was not an easy trip. We were hounded by monsters and the snow was really deep."

"Those snow bunnies were scary!" Luffy agreed.

"You were lucky to have made it to the top. You both had frost bite and Sanji was injured from the avalanche" Chopper's tone became authoritarian as he went into doctor mode.

"Hehe" Luffy grinned.

"It isn't funny!" Chopper snapped.

"Ignore him Chopper…Remember, you are talking to the man that thought you were a snack when he first met you" Nami reminded him.

Chopper tilted his head to one side, "I forgot about that"

"Yo, bro, you thought Chopper was food?" Franky asked, feeling sorry for the little guy.

Sanji and Luffy looked at each other sheepishly.

"Yep these morons scared poor Chopper and chased after him even though he had healed them. They thought he was an emergency food supply" Nami spoke up.

"Yeah that's right!" Chopper squeaked, "You also called me Evil, Monster and Weird!"

"My bad!" Luffy said apologetically, with a grin as he adjusted the hat on his head.

"So what made you join the crew?" Shirahoshi asked, wondering how scary it must have felt for someone to want to eat you.

"Dalton came back and threatened my people…Luffy and Sanji helped to fight them off. I knew Luffy was a good person when he protected the doctor's pirate flag from Dalton's attacks. Luffy said that a pirate's flag was a 'promise of life' and 'a symbol of faith'" Chopper explained.

"Wise words" Robin smiled at the fact that their captain could sometimes come out with some powerful statements. His words could reach into a person's heart and give them hope…she wondered if he even realised the effect he truly had on each of them. Not just them, the people and friends they had made on the way too.

"When I realised Chopper could talk and change form I knew I wanted him to join our crew!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Huh, yeah, you invited him without even knowing he was a doctor" Nami pointed out. Their captain was known amongst the crew to act on impulse. When he saw something he liked he wanted it. The weirder the better.

"And what a great doctor he is" Robin smiled.

"Saying that doesn't make me happy you idiot!" Chopper announced, with his body and facial expressions doing something different at the same time.

"He still doesn't know how to hide his emotions" Nami chided and they all laughed in agreement.

Chopper then continued to explain his side of the story and his experience with the doctor that took him in and taught him everything he knew.

Shirahoshi looked down at the straw hats from her position and smiled along with them. She was in awe at the journeys they had together so far. All the people they had met and fought, the friends they had made and the places they had visited. Listening to them made her realise just how big the world was and how vast the ocean. All this time she had been cooped up in her room, scared of the outside world. Yet listening to them talk and realising that they didn't all like each other at first, made her think about how a person's view could easily change. She too wanted to learn more about the world and gain her own experiences. Thanks to them her journey was just beginning. She still had so much to learn.

"Perhaps we should stop for a break?" Robin suggested, standing up to stretch her limbs.

Nami nodded in agreement.

"Good idea, I will prepare us something to eat" Sanji suggested.

"Yes!" Luffy announced, punching his arms into the air. Whenever food was mentioned he was always happy. Shirahoshi still couldn't believe how much he could eat for such a tiny person.

….

Sanji set out a ton of delicacies on a long table and called them over to help themselves. Nami sat at one end of the table, out of the way of their greedy captain. She knew all too well that he would just grab the biggest dish he could find and pile his food up like a mountain. She reached out and went to pick up a drumstick. At the same time Zoro and Sanji (who were sitting either side of her) went to pick up the last huge piece of meat left on the table.

"Hey that's mine" the swordsman muttered.

"I was here first" Sanji retorted.

They were both holding the lump of meat between them and tugging it either way, ignoring the fact that Nami was stuck right in the middle of them. However, they didn't have much time to argue over the matter as the food was quickly snatched from their hands by their captain. "GET YOUR OWN!" they both shouted at the straw hat in annoyance.

Sanji scowled at the moss head and was scoffed at in return. He immediately turned his attention onto an unimpressed Nami and poured her a refreshing drink.

"Tool" Zoro muttered under his breathe.

"What did you say?" Sanji snapped back.

"Enough!" Nami shouted, the pair of them immediately stopped, "don't you ever get tired of fighting all the time?" she asked with a sigh.

"My apologies Nami-san…" Sanji answered with a more serious tone.

"Sanji…why don't you make sure Shirahoshi has something to eat before our captain hordes it all to himself" she suggested. Sanji did as requested and she was grateful for the sudden silence.

Nami became aware of something burning at the side of her head and she turned to look at the man next to her.

"What?" he asked defensively as if she was the one with the problem. Nami raised an eyebrow. He had been acting strange towards her since their return and she couldn't figure out why. Recalling something he had said earlier she decided to tease him. At least this way she could guarantee a normal reaction from him.

"So I am beautiful am I?" she asked him.

Zoro suddenly started choking on his food and spat some of it out. Nami passed him his drink and he gulped it down, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand afterward. He glared at her as she sat watching him with a hand under her chin and a smile that warned him she was up to no good.

…

Robin watched the navigator and swordsman from across the table and wondered what had just happened between the two of them for the man to look so frustrated. He picked up his tankard and walked away from the red head, clearly trying to regain his composure. Robin noticed the smile on her friends face as she sat watching him leave. _I wonder what she said to him. _She thought.

She suddenly felt something brush against her arm and turned her attention to her side. She looked up to find the cyborg standing next to her. He reached over and picked up a tray of pastries and offered it out to her with a smile. Robin reached up and took one with pink icing on it, "Thank you Franky" she said, forgetting how he could be more of a gentleman than the cook at times.

Franky grinned from ear to ear, "No problem!"

…

**A/N: Well I know that I may be making Zoro and Nami argue a bit more than normal, but having gone back through a lot of the manga now there are so many tense scenes between them. I couldn't help it…I just had to make Nami tease him. **

**Please review and let me know what you think…Next chapter will be exploring their adventure in Alabasta…**

12


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece**

**Author's Note: Thank you to those of you who have taken the time to give me reviews or feedback. **

**Apologies for the error regarding 'Dalton'…Why I put that and not 'Walpol' I don't know. **

**Anyway, as promised here is chapter 4: **

**First Impressions**

**Chapter 4**

Zoro walked back over to where they had been sitting and rejoined the princess who appeared to be having a private lesson with their captain on how to put chopsticks in her nose. Deciding that the chopsticks he had were too small Luffy went to break off some larger pieces of wood that resembled giant splinters. Usopp was trying his best to encourage his captain not to do anything stupid, but his pleas went on deaf ears.

The swordsman watched his friends and sat in silence. He couldn't help but wonder at times why he was still with them but every now and then they would do something and make him realise once more that he had another reason to fight now. He couldn't help but grin as Sanji kicked their captain out of the way of the princess and scolded him for being a moron. The guy always did look out for the female species. Zoro didn't completely understand swirly brows logic or reasoning behind it. Every time he thought about it he assumed it was some perverse impulse. Yet having been near the females of the crew for so long he soon realised their fragility. He thought about their navigator, well, she was hardly the type to not be able to defend her self, besides she always managed to somehow talk her way out of a situation. Besides if she ever did get caught the enemy would never kill her, she was too precious for that. Her skill as a navigator was her saviour. No, Zoro didn't have to worry about Nami but he couldn't help but feel the need to protect her.

He glanced over at the red head as she sat and talked to Chopper, Robin and Franky at the table. It was strange to him but it was like watching parents with their children or an aunt and uncle with their niece and nephew. He suddenly wondered what that made him to them all. He watched as a smile spread across her face and thought about what he was to her.

Chopper gave a wiggle as a complement had been made to him otherwise he wouldn't act like that. Robin caught Nami's attention with a cough and nodded her head in the direction behind her. Nami turned her gaze and noticed Zoro glancing over at them. He turned away and swallowed more of his alcohol as she grinned at him mischievously.

"Well shall we continue where we left off?" Sanji asked the group. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper immediately gathered what they could and sat back in their little circle underneath the giant mermaid.

"Well I guess we should start first with our encounter with Mr 2 Bon Clay" Nami spoke up, choosing this time to sit next to the swordsman. Zoro suddenly realised how close she was and immediately felt uncomfortable. He suspected that she was doing this on purpose and told himself it was his own fault. If he had not reacted so badly before then she wouldn't have had a response to feed off. He had to control himself and not let her get to him. Folding his arms into a defensive position he sat back in his chair and breathed slowly, focussing his mind in the way he had trained himself to do so many times.

The mention of Mr 2 immediately caused Luffy, Usopp and Chopper to become sad. Their friend had helped them to escape after all, despite the fact he had been their enemy moments before.

"Mr 2 was a devil fruit user. We bumped into him on the way to Alabasta as we passed through a heat spot." Nami explained, "I don't fully know how but Usopp and Luffy somehow caught him on their fishing rods and for saving his life he showed us his powers of shape shifting"

"He had so many different faces he could use!" Usopp recalled laughing with Luffy as they both took it in turns to try to make impressions of their friends. They received a punch to their heads when Luffy started to sway around as if he was Nami and placed his hands on his chest to emphasise the delicate flesh Bon Clay had revealed to them all when he changed into Nami's form.

"Hey what was that for?" Luffy whined.

"I think the princess gets the picture without the need for a demonstration" Nami retorted. Luffy sat nursing a bumpy head muttering at how much of a party pooper Nami was at times.

"At the time we didn't know Bon Clay was Mr 2, but Vivi soon recognised her fathers face through all the images of people he showed from his past. After he left Zoro came up with the idea to place a mark on our left arms and wrap them with a ribbon. This way if we ever bumped into Mr 2 again we would be able to detect whether it was one of us or not" Nami continued.

"I have to admit, as much of a knuckle head as he can be it was a pretty good idea" Sanji acknowledged Zoro's plan. After all, he was also someone who had to give credit where it was due.

Nami looked to her right and smiled at Zoro, "He can be full of surprises at times" she teased. Zoro scoffed and chose to ignore them.

"It seems like you all were quite lucky to have encountered him before reaching Alabasta" Robin interjected. She knew the power that the shape shifting ability of Mr 2 had on others and was impressed that her friends had found a way to out wit the man.

"Yes we were" Nami agreed.

"He sounds like a fierce man" Shirahoshi spoke to herself, imagining some hulk of a guy who could change form and become a beast or something. The straw hats looked at the princess and then at each other, recalling what the guy actually looked like. They lifted their hands in unison and all said at the same time, "nah".

"He was an Otaka!" Luffy explained. Shirahoshi looked at him with a blank face. She clearly had no idea what that meant.

"Don't worry, Sanji can explain it to you. After all he knows many of them" Zoro spoke up as he looked at the cook and grinned. Sanji was unimpressed and suddenly seemed a little deflated, like something had run over his grave. His face went pale and he felt the sudden need to be sick. He sent a strong glare over at their captain and the swordsman. If looks could kill his definitely would at that moment. He still could not forgive the fact that both men had been with stunning women for the past two years and barely batted an eyelid. They didn't understand true beauty at all. Life just was not fair.

Robin studied the blonde man for a minute and seeing as no one spoke, as well as being concerned for the sudden deathly atmosphere, she decided to explain it herself. "You see, Mr 2 was a man who liked to wear feminine things" the princess' eyes opened widely as it suddenly dawned on her. The others laughed at her reaction…well all except Sanji.

"Alabasta was so hot" Chopper suddenly thought out loud.

"Ah yes, I almost forgot that you suffered a lot while we were there" Nami acknowledged.

"What is it like?" Shirahoshi asked eagerly.

"Alabasta is a desert kingdom. There are some regions within it where there is water and this is where the towns and cities are built. It has a great trading community and there were plans to expand. But with Crocodile manipulating things behind the scene, with Mr 2's help he turned the people against Vivi's father, the king. He ensured the country suffered from extreme droughts by using his ability to control sand and create sand storms." Nami explained.

"That sounds horrendous!" the mermaid exclaimed, placing a hand over her mouth to emphasise her shock. She found it hard to visualise a place with little water. After all, she did live under the sea.

"Crocodile had control over all the Dance Powder in the kingdom" Nami continued.

"Dance Powder?" Shirahoshi had no idea what that was.

"It's powder that makes it rain when you expose it to the air" Zoro interjected, giving a simple explanation before Nami could go onto one of her spiels about how it all works.

Nami looked at him, "yeah that's more or less it" she agreed, "Crocodile used this powder to make it rain on the capital, resulting in droughts in other places. This made the people begin to suspect the king and a rebellion then took place. Hundreds of people died. Vivi desperately wanted to protect her kingdom and its people and bring the war to an end"

"I can understand how she felt" Shirahoshi spoke up. She knew what it was like for her people to side against each other and to even have someone try to kill her merely because of her birth right and nothing more. Nami smiled at the mermaid, she suspected she would become a strong leader one day like her mother before her.

"The women in Alabasta…" Sanji suddenly came out of his stupor. He then remembered something and turned to look at their navigator, "Nami-san, do you still have the dancers outfit I got for you?" he asked.

Nami looked at him as if he was up to no good and turned away from him. He looked crest fallen at her sudden cold nature.

"Idiot" Zoro muttered under his breathe. That guy never learned.

"That perfume you had was over whelming" Chopper recalled. Thinking back there were plenty of reasons for him not to want to live in that country permanently.

"Wasn't that when Luffy burst into that restaurant and ran straight into the marines?" Usopp recalled. They all nodded and sighed.

"He always has a way of finding trouble" Zoro spoke up.

"You are one to talk!" Nami exclaimed.

Usopp and Chopper nodded silently in agreement with their navigator. Zoro was very much like his captain. He may have moments of maturity and ideas but on the whole he loved danger and exploring like most of the others.

"That's when Ace helped us out" Usopp added. They all looked towards Luffy, knowing his brother was a touchy subject for him. Luffy did not appear to be sad. In fact he seemed to be smiling at Ace's memory. Luffy was glad his brother could meet his friends and gave his approval of them. That made him really happy.

They all took a moment to remember Luffy's brother in silence out of respect. Usopp was the first to speak up, "I still can't believe how different they are"

"Uh-huh" Sanji, Nami, Zoro and Chopper said at once.

"What was he like?" Shirahoshi asked, curious to know more about Luffy's family. Franky, Robin and Brook were all intrigued to hear more too.

"Well the complete opposite" Sanji spoke up.

"So sensible" Nami nodded.

"A caring older brother" Zoro recalled.

"I still can't believe how Luffy claimed to have always lost to him before he even ate a devil fruit" Nami admitted.

"His grandfather is fearsome, too" Zoro added.

Luffy laughed. He liked to hear his friends speak so kindly about his brother. When the mermaid princess asked to learn more about him he began to explain how he was raised as a child and his adventures and training with Sano and Ace. When he was finished the others looked at him a little spell bound.

"Well that explains a lot" Zoro spoke up, finally understanding why Luffy was as persistent, fearless and stubborn as he was. The others seemed to agree.

Shirahoshi sniffed and tried to fight back more tears, rubbing her eyes.

"Hey you're not going to cry on me again are you?" Luffy shouted, moving to one side slightly in anticipation. Her tears were like salt water and made him almost feel weak to the knees. Besides he hated to see her cry like that.

Sanji lit another cigarette and sat back in his seat. Blowing out a puff of smoke he remained thoughtful for a moment, "I always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling" he said to no one in particular.

"It is nice" Nami spoke up, "Nojiko and I had our moments when we would argue. I even used to get jealous of her that I always got her hand me downs, but she stuck up for me and looked out for me like no one else. Having her as a sister is something I will always cherish"

"A sister would have been nice" Sanji muttered.

"Pervert" Usopp, Zoro and Luffy spoke up at once.

"Yoohoo I didn't have a relative but my crew were my family" Brook said, wanting to be part of the conversation again.

"I miss my brothers and sisters!" Franky started to cry in memory of his friends.

"I too wonder what it would be like" Robin spoke up, "Although meeting you all has given me an idea…" she looked over at Nami and then to Luffy. They smiled back at her. She saw them like her little brother and sister.

Zoro sat and thought for a minute. He couldn't help but agree with the archaeologist. He looked at his captain and that was exactly how he felt. Luffy was like a kid brother to him, always getting into trouble and needing saving. He caught Nami looking at the glass in her hands as she thought of her village and the people she left behind. Her expression was peaceful and yet sad at the same time. Glancing at the others they had a similar look about them. He guessed he missed his home town too and would like to meet his master once again one day, but he also knew he could not bring himself to do so without first seeing his dream through to the end.

It suddenly dawned on him that when he had completed his dream and returned home, what would he do next? He looked around the group and wondered the same about the rest of them. He had thought that they would all keep journeying together, but his logical head suddenly made him realise that this may not always be possible. Anything could happen, for a start they may not all make it out alive in the end. That was a factor he had come to accept a long time ago. Yet looking at his friends now he realised it was not something he wanted to give a lot of thought to at this moment. He glanced at the red head sitting next to him and she slowly lifted her head to return his gaze. Her expression was slightly sad and he suddenly realised she had been thinking the same thing. He wanted to tell her not to worry but he knew such sentiment was pointless. A voice disrupted their thoughts and Nami broke eye contact with him.

"um we kind of went off track a bit…" Usopp announced.

"Yeah where were we?" Sanji asked.

"Um…Luffy's brother came to help us escape from the marines in Nanohana" said Chopper.

"That's right…well after getting what supplies we could we set sail towards the town of Yuba." Sanji added.

"It was soo hot!" Luffy complained, "I hate deserts"

"It would have been better if you didn't get so easily conned by a bunch of stupid birds!" Sanji spat, recalling the occasion where Luffy lost 3 days worth of luggage and food and water he had slaved away to produce.

"Hey that wasn't my fault!" Luffy defended himself.

"Well it is a good job that pervert camel came when he did bringing that sand monster with him otherwise we would have starved!" Sanji bit back.

"You three together are monstrous" Usopp said, recalling how easily they took out the monster when they joined forces.

"We could have made it to Yuma without anything anyway. We weren't that far away anyway" Zoro cut in. Although he realised quickly that unless his captain was actually the type to listen to him and save his energy then it wouldn't have mattered.

"I wonder how they are doing now" Chopper spoke up, thinking of the old man in Yuma and his son. When they had left Alabasta the rebels had gone back to rebuild their cities and the weather was returning to normal. He could only hope that Yuma had finally become the oasis they had planned it to be all those years.

"I am sure they are fine. That geezer was quite determined. Even after years of digging holes in the sand he never once gave up or lost faith in his king" Sanji reassured the little doctor.

"He was quite a man" Zoro agreed.

"Hmm I suppose while this was happening it coincided with me arranging a meeting with the rest of Crocodile's forces" Robin interjected. They all turned and looked at her. She sat with a hand under her chin, her elbow resting on the table next to her and a drink in her spare hand. "Crocodile demanded I collect Mr 2, Mr 1 and Mr 4 along with their partners. He finally decided to reveal his true identity to them and his plan for a Utopia. It was during these discussions that Mr 3 confessed that you were all in fact alive. You can imagine how angry Crocodile was to hear this news." She looked at the cook and he grinned. It was good to know his deceit had worked out for them so long.

"Mr 2 then identified that he had in fact ran into you all. He seemed slightly upset that the very people he thought were his friends turned out to be his enemy. Crocodile forced him to pose as you all so we could send pictures out for your arrest" the raven haired female continued.

"Wow Robin-chan, I had no idea you were involved with such a dangerous crew" Brook interjected.

"Nothing you couldn't handle right?" Franky asked with a sideways smile. Robin nodded and returned his grin.

"Wasn't it when we left Yuba that Luffy suddenly decided not to fight anymore?" Chopper asked.

Usopp nodded, "Yep and that's when he hit Vivi"

"Why?" Shirahoshi was surprised by the fact Luffy would lay a hand on a woman that way.

Luffy seemed to be a little lost in thought for a moment and had a serious expression on his face, "after meeting the old man I realised just how much the people had suffered at the hands of Crocodile. I couldn't forgive him. I knew that no matter how hard Vivi tried, unless we defeated that guy it would never stop. Vivi's naïve way of thinking that everyone would live would only cause her pain. I couldn't let it go on like that. Vivi had to see things for the way they were. She was willing to risk so much and put her life on the line yet couldn't see how losing her would never solve anything and only cause more people pain." They others all sat there a little amazed at how mature their captain seemed at that moment.

"Huh, our captain always has a way of hitting the nail on the head when it is needed" Sanji muttered.

"He doesn't hold back any punches either" Usopp agreed.

"Was hitting Vivi really necessary though?" Nami asked, still concerned for her friends feelings at the time. She knew Luffy was right but his approach was just insane. It did the job, yet she couldn't help but feel there was a different way of saying it to her.

"We couldn't afford to waste time, Luffy knew that" Zoro cut in, they all turned to look at him, "Vivi needed a reality check…just because she is a woman doesn't change the fact that it was needed." Nami knew what he meant. Zoro was not the type to give excuses due to gender differences. Their friend needed to have some sense knocked into them the hard way. Due to the circumstances there were no other options. Luffy did the right thing and helped Vivi to open her eyes. If it had been anyone else it would never have worked. Only Luffy could make Vivi realise the truth and ask for his help.

"That seems like quite the noble thing you did there" Franky pitched in. It was definitely an unexpected response and perhaps a little brutal, but effective nevertheless. It was quite clear to the cyborg that Luffy cared a lot for this Vivi. She was another one of his precious friends and he didn't want to see her die or suffer anymore. He wanted nothing more than to destroy the man that had caused her so much pain. It was interesting looking at the young man now as he reflected on the past. Luffy was never someone that seemed to show any interest in a woman, yet here he was looking like a part of him was missing.

"I wonder if Kohza and Vivi are now…you know…" Usopp asked.

Nami slapped her friend around the back of the head for being a moron. Honestly, the guys really couldn't get the mood sometimes.

"What was that for?!" Usopp shouted, he seemed stunned when Nami gritted her teeth and gave a sideways nod to their captain. He glanced over and caught the thoughtful expression on Luffy's face.

"Who is Kohza?" Shirahoshi asked. Nami grimaced and glared at Usopp as if to say, _look what you've just done! _Usopp gulped a lump down his throat as if to apologise.

Nami sighed, "Kohza was a childhood friend of Vivi's and the leader of the rebellion against her father…unfortunately he too had been deceived by Crocodile and his goons."

"I see, they must have been close" the mermaid noted.

"He helped stop the rebellion when he realised what a fool he had been…Vivi said he had saved her life once when they were kids, but I don't think there was anything romantic in it" Nami added. She glanced over at their captain, after all she had said it for his benefit more than anything.

"Well I assume this was when you all came running into Crocodile's casino?" Robin asked, trying to move the subject on and distract her captain from his thoughts.

Nami turned her attention back to the raven haired woman, "Um, yes…we sent Usopp and Luffy to get some water once we reached the town, but they ended up bringing trouble our way again. Smoker and his marines chased us…then these morons led us straight into a trap"

"I don't recall you having any other bright ideas" Usopp pointed out. Nami stuck her nose up at him.

"That Smoker guy taught us something pretty handy though" Zoro recalled.

Nami glanced his way and nodded, "That's right, that's when we discovered what sea stone was and how weak it can make devil fruit users…"

"Then that Crocodile showed up all smug and full of himself. As if he ever had a chance against us!" Usopp shouted, on the verge of entering one of his long dialogues.

"Hmm Vivi was very brave" Robin cut the sharp shooter off. Luffy looked up at her. "Crocodile had sent me to fetch her while you were all locked up…she tried to fight me. She had some guts I have to give her that"

"What did you do to her?" Luffy asked, not realising Robin had fought the princess.

"I caught her and pretended to kill Pell…it was really interesting to see a human that could fly like a bird."

"You are quite the actress Robin-chan!" Sanji sung.

"It seems there is another side to you I don't know about" Franky spoke up as he glanced over to Robin who sat by his side. She smiled and raised a glass to her lips before continuing, "I believe that is when Vivi tried to attack Crocodile and he decided to leave you all to die"

"That arrogant bastard! The way he played with Vivi's feelings like that, I still can't forgive him!" Luffy snapped, forming fists with his hands.

"Those crocodiles were pretty huge" Usopp recalled.

"I still can't help but smile at the look on Crocodile's face when Sanji made the snail call" Robin said, slightly amused.

"That's right! I don't think I have ever been so happy to see Sanji at that point!" Usopp exclaimed. He remembered how they had all freaked out that the water level was getting higher and they couldn't break out of the cage. Even Zoro had been upset that he was not strong enough to be able to cut through the stone bars…Usopp looked over at the swordsman, curious to know if he could cut through them now…

"I must say Sanji-kun, you have a way of forming plans…unlike some of the idiots we are surrounded by" Nami stated. Sanji grinned and swooned at his princess's compliment. "Although if it was not for Mr 3 we may not have managed to find a way out of that cage"

"Ah yes, Crocodile had thrown a fake key into the Crocodile cage, he had kept the real one on himself" Robin spoke up.

"WHAT?!" Luffy, Usopp and Sanji shouted at the same time.

"Oh you didn't realise that?" Robin asked with a shrug.

"Like I said it was a good job Mr 3 was there" Nami repeated herself.

"I guess if we hadn't had saved Smoker back then either then we would have had even more problems with those marines" Zoro highlighted. His respect for that man had increased after that event.

"Yep he is a good guy" Luffy chirped up with a grin.

"Do you think we will come across him again?" Usopp asked the group.

"Most likely" Zoro replied.

"Well…I guess this takes us up to our escape on that huge crab" Nami cut in.

"Thanks to Nami's strong perfume I was able to find you guys easily!" Chopper was happy to be able to pitch in on the story again. He had been a decoy all that time while Sanji saved the others but this time was his moment. Having worked with Eyelash he was able to find some help.

"It was nice perfume" Nami sighed, she had ran out of it ages ago.

"Nami my sweet I can always buy you some more!" Sanji sung.

"Really?! That is so kind of you Sanji-kun!" Nami spoke in her obviously fake feminine voice…well it was obvious for anyone who knew her well enough, the fact that the idiotic cook feel for it every time never ceased to amaze Zoro. He couldn't help but get angry every time the guy opened his mouth. Couldn't he see that he was just being manipulated? Didn't he care? Then again, he couldn't help wonder if he was more angry at the cook or at the female sitting beside him. She knew perfectly well what she was doing when she teased the man. It was not playing fair and it just got his back up.

Yet thinking about it now made Zoro wonder why. Why did he care about what she or Sanji said or did together? They had been like this for years and the cook never seemed fazed, he was like it with every woman. Yet Zoro never got angry when Robin, Vivi or even Shirahoshi responded to him. Was it because they didn't treat him like a tool or was it something more than that? He looked at the red head as she leant forward in her seat and took hold of Sanji's hands to thank him in that flirtatious way she often did. She was like that any moment someone mentioned money and her not needing to spend any. Zoro gritted his teeth and suddenly acted on instinct.

Nami felt a strong hand grab her wrist and pull her back. She let go of the cook and turned to look at its owner. Zoro released her and spat a retorting remark at the blond man who gave an equally aggressive one back. This time it was Robin who separated the two men using her devil fruit powers. She picked them up in two large hands and sat them down in their seats. They continued to glare at each other. Nami looked down at her wrist and rubbed it slightly. Zoro had always retaliated with Sanji and snapped at him every time he said something to her, but she always put it down to him getting angry with the cook for being such an idiot and ruining any respect he had for the man. Never before had he acted physically like that. She was momentarily stunned.

"I wanted to ride on that crab!" Luffy suddenly remembered, becoming jealous that he missed his opportunity.

"You were a little busy at the time" Usopp reassured him, "If you hadn't of traded places with Vivi when you did who knows what Crocodile would have done"

"He was a tough opponent" Luffy agreed. He had acted on impulse in saving Vivi. He didn't want that filthy man's hands on her and was ready to kill the man if he had to for what he had done. He hated people who trod on people's lives like they were meaningless.

"These guys wouldn't admit it but they were pretty worried about you" Nami spoke up. Her statement caused Zoro and Sanji to stop their staring contest.

"I wasn't worried!" Zoro protested.

"Please, you continued to train throughout the rest of our trip" Nami recalled. She had to separate the two men after all. She smiled at the swordsman and his grimace turned into a frown. The damn woman was right. He didn't want to admit it but as brave as he tried to be for Vivi's sake, he didn't like the odds against their captain at the time.

"You were really worried about Vivi…if I recall you stated to Crocodile that you were fighting him to prevent Vivi from dying" Robin spoke up. Luffy nodded. "You also called him an idiot" Robin finished with a small chuckle.

"His power sure was scary for a moment back there. He sucked the water out of my arm and swallowed me whole into his quicksand" their captain recalled the events of their battle.

"You nearly died?" Usopp was surprised by his captain's tail of his fight with Crocodile. The others sat there in silence.

"Yep…he stabbed me through the chest with his hook" Luffy confirmed.

"How did you escape?" Shirahoshi asked.

Luffy looked over to Robin and they shared a smile, "If not for Robin I would have been buried alive"

"I was curious as to why you fought so hard to protect your friends and save a land that wasn't even yours to worry about" she admitted, "off course it wasn't until getting to know you all that I realised how crazy you all are"

Her statement caused everyone to smile and share a small laugh. They were not your usual bunch of average people that was for sure. This was only the partial truth however, as Robin's main drive to saving their captain had been to learn more about the men with the initial D. in their name. Little had she known then that Monkey D. Luffy was related to Portgas D. Ace, Monkey D. Garp and Monkey D. Dragon.

"You also have one other to thank" Robin continued, Luffy sat with his head tilted to one side and thought for a moment. When she realised the Beli was taking far too long to drop she helped him out, "the advisor to the king that could turn into a giant hawk…"

Realisation hit Luffy and he punched a fist into his hand, "Yosh! He got me meat!" The others smiled.

"So while Luffy was being rescued what happened to you guys?" Franky spoke up, turning his attention from the smiling archaeologist to look back at their navigator.

"Well, we realised that in order to get to Alubarna we had to cross over the small section of sea diving the land." Usopp explained.

"I have never seen a crab run so fast in my life" Chopper announced.

"If it wasn't for our beautiful Nami-san he wouldn't have had the motivation to run so fast" Sanji pointed out.

Zoro sat and scoffed. He couldn't believe how many small details they picked up on and wanted to talk about. There was so much going on and so many more important things to be concerned with but recalling Nami flashing herself to a crab was not something he wanted to remember again. Even if he had to admit the beast was fast.

"Luckily those kung fu seals that Luffy beat up came to our rescue" Usopp continued, recalling how the little guys defeated a huge monster and saved them from being eaten and having to swim an eternity to the other side. The stupid crab may have been fast but not fast enough to run on water.

"Let's not forget Karou and the duck squad" Nami pitched in.

"Yoohoohoo it seems like you all have formed many friends with animals" Brook sung, happy to know his friends were so caring and even impressed other living beings.

"Well thanks to them we managed to get to the city in time and divided into teams, forcing the enemy to split up" Zoro summarised, growing weary of the constant descriptions. The princess didn't need the detail of their fights, just the fact that they won. While Nami explained what their plan had been he sat and watched her.

He watched as her hair flowed down her back and remembered how it had been really short when they first met. By the time they had reached Alabasta it had grown a little longer and she was able to clip it back. He wasn't too sure why she had decided to grow it so long in the first place. Especially considering it was easier to fight with her hair out of the way. Yet as he noticed the slight shine and bounce to it he found himself wanting to touch it. He shook his head into reality again and resisted the temptation. He had no idea what had gotten into him lately but all this reminiscing just made it difficult to not think about the past and what was right in front of him.

As Sanji, Chopper and Usopp briefly explained their fights with the mole woman and Mr 2 he started to recall his own challenge against Mr 1. The man's body was unique and deadly. He had lost a lot of blood and was lucky that his instincts kicked in when they did, helping him to avoid any vital organs being damaged. He recalled the moment his thoughts suddenly became clear and how he was able to read the man's movements and feel the earth around him to every find grain. That was the day he learnt to cut through steel.

Nami looked sideways at the man sitting next to her and caught him glancing her way. She forced herself to look on and focus her attention on the others as they spoke, but couldn't help feel her skin tingle as eyes bore into her. She wondered what it was about and if Zoro was recalling the fact that she had run off and left him to it or forced him to give her a piggy back when he was wounded. She bit her lip at the memory. He may have thought badly of her back then, growing angry when he realised she could walk the whole time, but he had scared her. She had felt guilty for running off and leaving him to fight two opponents on his own, but running hadn't done any good. It forced the enemy to follow her instead and distracted the swordsman. She remembered how he grabbed her and slammed her to the floor, pushing his body in between her and Mr 1's blade. She had never been so grateful to him as she was at that moment.

When she managed to fight her way against Miss Double finger she had found a new sense of confidence and was so happy she could now help her friends to fight. She hated being weak and always being saved all the time. It had taken a lot of guts but she had succeeded. Off course it would have been easier if Usopp hadn't made her weapon so damn annoying and made better instructions, but she got there with minimal problems. Not to mention she defeated one of the top females from Baroque works. Yet when she went to find Zoro and saw him laying there like that…the memory caused her to hug herself. She tucked her feet up onto the chair and hugged her legs, resting her chin on her knees. There was so much blood. At first she thought the worst until she noticed Mr 1's body not too far away. She ran over to Zoro. He was on his front and his swords scattered to his sides.

_Flashback: _

_She reached out hesitantly and with a trembling hand touched his shoulder. "Zoro" she shook him a little more, "Zoro" _

_There was no response and she felt herself panic a little. She put her weapon away and struggled to kneel beside him. Using what little strength she had left she rolled him over and gasped at the sight of his wounds. She placed a hand on his chest and felt it rise and fall. She let out a breathe she didn't even realise she had been holding. Looking at him more closely she examined his wounds. Luckily they weren't too deep, she just hoped this meant a lot of the blood on him was not his own. She lifted her head and looked in the direction of his opponent to reassure herself the man was still down. A sudden noise caught her attention. _

_Zoro was snoring. _

"_Wake up! Baka" she shouted, smacking him around the head. _

_Zoro sat upright and winced in pain, resting on one of his elbows. He looked at her for a second, his expression changed from dazed to concerned. "Are you alright?" he asked. _

_Nami was relieved he seemed okay. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced any tears she had back. Nodding she replied, "Yes, no thanks to you" he scoffed in response. She knew damn well he had more than his fair share to contend with. _

"_We should check to see on the others" she said. He nodded and looked down at her hands that still rested on his chest. She was shaking. The adrenaline was finally leaving her body. A strong hand took hold of her weak one and helped her to stand up. _

_Zoro let go of her hand and scanned the area for his swords. He slowly bent down to pick each of them up and place them back at his waist. _

"_Ow!" she cried out in pain as she tried to put pressure on her foot. He turned around and looked at her. From the way he scanned her from head to toe she felt she must have looked a bit worse for wear. She suddenly felt a little exposed and embarrassed. Deciding to turn it to her advantage and test out whether he was actually fit enough to continue she thought up a ploy. _

"_I can't walk properly" she whined, pointing to her bloodied foot. _

_Zoro looked at her as she smiled at him, "what?" _

"_You are going to have to carry me" she said sweetly. _

_He raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "no way" _

"_But I can't walk. I will slow us down!" she protested. He stood there and stared at her for a moment, resisting the urge to walk away and leave her there most likely. "You wouldn't leave me alone in this strange place would you?" she asked in the most childlike innocent voice she could muster. _

_He stormed up to her and grunted, "Fine, but don't ever say I don't do anything for you!" he snapped. She grinned back at him. He turned around and lowered himself to one knee. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he slowly stood up. She couldn't help but notice that his breathing seemed a little laboured as he struggled although her guilt was momentary when he muttered something under his breathe about her weight. Bringing her legs up to his sides she felt strong hands cup her thighs and couldn't help but sink into his body. _

_She looked ahead of them and rested her head on his shoulder, "Zoro, where do you think you are taking me?" she asked in a sultry tone. _

"_To find the others" he answered. _

"_Honestly baka, you are going the wrong way. Go that way" she pointed out to a road to their left, he followed it begrudgingly. _

"_Zoro" she said his name softly. _

"_Yeah" he replied, his breathing eventually evening out. _

"_Thank you" she whispered. He grunted in response and tightened his hold on her. She squeezed him back slightly herself. _

_End Flashback _

"Vivi tried really hard while you were all fighting to get through to her people, but no one could hear her" Robin's voice cut into the navigators thoughts. "Crocodile threw her from the top of the palace, then Luffy made a heroic entrance" she smiled at their captain. "He came flying in and swooped Vivi into his arms" she teased.

"Just how the hero should save the day" Franky spoke up in approval.

"While Luffy fought of Crocodile the rest of us searched the city for the bomb that was in place." Sanji explained.

"I have to admit I was impressed with Luffy's idea on how to defeat Crocodile with water" Robin chirped.

"I realised when I first fought him that when he broke the water bottle around my neck that it hardened his sand and I managed to release his hold on me" Luffy admitted.

"Nami-san's idea to jump up to the top of the bell tower was also intriguing" Sanji spoke up. Her quick thinking never ceased to amaze him.

"Speak for yourself, that fall nearly killed me" Usopp grumbled.

"That Falcon…he was a brave man" Zoro replied.

"Hmph, he was definitely a true hero" Sanji agreed.

"Poor Vivi, she tried so hard to shout for everyone to stop fighting, but no one was listening" Chopper spoke up.

The memory forced Nami to have tears in her eyes. Vivi was so brave and loved her country so much. She had wanted to help her friend keep that dream alive, yet she knew there was only so much they could do. They were all worn out and injured, yet watching her on that tower had forced her to not give up. It was at that moment she ordered everyone to try to help break up the fighting. No matter what the cost.

"Vivi's father was a pretty amazing king, too" Sanji announced through a puff of his cigarette.

"Yeah, to carry Luffy back to safety and getting his hands dirty. He was a good guy" Zoro agreed.

"So what happened to Crocodile?" Shirahoshi asked, looking at Luffy.

The captain grinned and answered, "I beat him"

"It was a pretty close call" Zoro warned, "You lost a lot of blood and he poisoned you to"

"Yeah but Robin helped me" Luffy chirped.

"I guess we are lucky Robin came on our side" Nami nodded and smiled at her friend.

"I didn't have much of a choice either way" the raven haired woman announced, "Luffy wouldn't leave me behind and let me die like I had wanted him to"

This comment caught the cyborg's attention, "Wishing for death is never a good thing" he spoke up. She turned to him and smiled as she recognised the concern on his face.

"Back then I had almost given up all hope. Luffy helped me to find it again" she replied. Luffy grinned.

"Yeah I guess he has a knack of knocking sense into people" Sanji muttered. With that they all laughed.

"So did Vivi eventually get through to the people?" Shirahoshi asked, aware that there seemed to be gaps in places and desperately trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Yes, she did" Nami smiled, the others followed suit.

"After that we all took a few days to recuperate and prepare for our next journey" Nami summed up.

"The celebrations and food were great!" Luffy rejoiced.

"I think you ate for the whole kingdom" Usopp exaggerated, but was pretty close.

"I missed out on 3 days worth of meals!" Luffy pointed this factor out.

"I guess it is because of that he developed later on the ability to eat while he slept" Sanji breathed some smoke out.

"Those baths were pretty cool too" Usopp suddenly spoke up, not realising he had said it out loud. Yet he wasn't the only one thinking the same way. Sanji, Luffy and Chopper all joined him in glancing over at their red headed navigator.

"Keep your perverted thoughts to yourselves" Zoro warned them, unimpressed with the fact that they would stoop so low as to spy on the girls in the bathroom anyway. Even Chopper had back then yet he was someone who claimed to be uninterested in human women.

"Hey just because you don't understand beauty when you see it doesn't mean we can't appreciate natures art!" Sanji snapped.

"You have a twisted view on art" Zoro spat back.

"That just reminded me…you all still owe me over 100,000 Beli for that experience…with 2 years interest of course" Nami winked.

They immediately started to protest, well all except for the cook who thought she was stunning as usual.

Zoro grinned, everything came with a price with that woman. He was just glad that for once it wasn't him being charged. He hadn't joined them back then for that very reason. He was no fool. If Nami caught you doing something like that she would definitely get her own back, tenfold.

"Have I missed something?" the musician spoke up.

"Nami flashed us" Luffy blurted out.

"EHHH?!" Brook suddenly became extremely jealous. He turned to their navigator and said, "Would you flash me Nami-san?" but got a kick in the face for his perverseness.

"Hey sis, looks like there is more to you than meets the eye" Franky winked.

"Don't put me in the same category as you!" Nami snapped, recalling the horrific moment when he flashed his parts to the world.

"Is there anyone who hasn't seen Nami naked?" Usopp suddenly asked out loud.

They all looked over to Robin who shrugged and said, "We bathe together".

"Robin!" Nami scolded her female companion. "You guys make me sound like some tramp!" she protested. She was going to increase their debts a thousand times for that insult.

"I haven't seen Nami-san completely naked" Brook pitched in. Nami was actually a little grateful for his honesty. "Though I would still like to see her p..a.." he was sent flying before he could finish his sentence. Nami was now standing and furious. Her dignity was being pulled out from beneath her by her own friends. She was burning with anger.

"Give it a rest Nami" Zoro placed a hand on her shoulder and she suddenly became aware of his presence behind her. She started to relax a little.

"Hey come to think of it, you didn't look that time" Luffy pointed a finger at the swordsman and he stepped next to Nami to face the rest of the idiots.

"So what?" he asked, wondering where his captain was going with this.

"Maybe Zoro doesn't like women?" Usopp whispered to Luffy. A vein throbbed in the moss head's temple.

"It wouldn't surprise me" Sanji spoke up, joining their little discussion.

"Yoohoo do you think he likes…men…" Brook asked. There was a momentary silence and Luffy popped his head up from the group. Zoro knew full well what was coming next.

"Zoro do you like men?" their captain asked out of the blue. Robin burst into laughter and Nami stood watching in amazement as the swordsman rapidly beat the crap out of his friends. Their heads were all that could be seen sticking out of the ground.

"Wooo dude, no need to get so uptight." Franky spoke up.

Zoro immediately spun on the man, "I do not like men!" he yelled with a deep and deadly tone of voice.

"So…why…didn't you…look?" Luffy asked through raspy breathes.

"Because unlike you morons I actually have respect for Nami!" Zoro bellowed. The area went silent.

…

**A/N: Wow…Alabasta goes on forever! I am happy with the ZoNa content of this chapter though. Next up will be them talking about saying goodbye to Vivi, Robin joining their crew and the journey to Skypiea. **

**Please review! **

**P.S. it is nearly 2am but I have a busy day tomorrow and wanted to get something out to you all. So, I haven't proof read this and just did a quick spell check so please forgive me if there are errors. Hopefully I got people's names right this time round as I had to flick through most of the manga to make sure I remembered things properly. **

17


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. I am just a fan adding my own little part to it. **

**Author's Note: Thank you again guys for your feedback. I am glad I did well with the Alabasta scene. It was a key ZoNa moment and I didn't want to mess it up. I appreciate you all taking the time to respond…especially if you are on a bus or something!**

**First Impressions**

**Chapter 5**

The area was so quiet at that moment that a tumble weed passed by the group as they tried to think about what the swordsman was saying.

"What the hell are you trying to imply moss head?!" Sanji spat, clearly quite irritated by what their friend just shouted out. He tried to free himself from the ground.

"You know what I mean!" Zoro snapped back. A dark aura started to spread out between the two of them.

"What do you know about women?" Sanji retorted, shaking off sand from his clothes and stepping closer to the swordsman.

"I know they're not objects!" Zoro spat, closing the gap between them a little more.

Sanji put out his cigarette and Zoro placed a hand on one of his sword hilts. The cook was clearly angry with Zoro's accusations. He knew more than anyone how a woman should be treated. He appreciated the female form, sure, but he would never bring harm to a woman or touch her without permission. It was not his way of doing things. Women should be wined and dined and treated like a flower, with care and love. Yet Zoro's statement bothered him, more so for the look on their navigator's delicate face.

Usopp felt himself become a little embarrassed by the situation. The fact that Zoro had gotten so wound up and defensive made him wonder if there was more meaning behind his words. Although he himself had seen Nami naked and in a vulnerable position, even becoming grateful for the sight, he knew that Nami did her fair share of using situations to her advantage and it wasn't like she was completely innocent in all of this.

"I don't get it. What is so disrespectful about liking a woman's body?" Luffy pointed out whilst picking his nose with his little finger. His statement caused Usopp to hit his face with the palm of his hand. He slapped their captain around the head and whispered with a harsh tone, "Get with the programme!"

Nami remained motionless and watched the back of the swordsman for a moment. She noticed his muscles tense up as he prepared to fight the cook. She couldn't fully understand why he was so angry about something that usually he would just brush off. Yet she felt a small smile come to her face as she became interested in why he became so defensive.

"Nami-saaan, I have never disrespected you have I?" Sanji asked the navigator in a change of tone, trying to prove a point to the swordsman. Suddenly all eyes were on Nami. She knew that whichever answer she gave they were still likely to fight each other, yet she found herself saying "No Sanji-kun".

Sanji's arrogant smile triggered the swordsman's fury even more. He spun on Nami and glared at her for a moment, "You are as bad as them!" he snapped.

Nami stood with her arms crossed and tapped a foot. She looked at him for a moment. She noticed Sanji move behind the swordsman, readying to kick him and raised a hand to stop the man. She could handle Zoro's wraith better than anyone else on the ship. After all, she had the most experience with it…well second to Sanji anyway.

"What are you trying to say Zoro?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

"You encourage them!" he practically growled.

"Zoro, what I do with my body is my business" she spoke calmly. He looked at her and gritted his teeth. She continued, "I can take care of myself."

Zoro knew she was right. He knew that he was blowing this out of proportion and he knew that if he didn't stop himself he may say or do something he would later regret. He had to take back control of his emotions. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breathe, holding it for a few seconds and letting it out again. He decided to give up the fight and turned around. As he walked past her he avoided her gaze. He sat back in his seat without another word and picked up his drink. He downed the rest of the tankard in one go and reached for the nearest barrel to pour him self some more. If he was embarrassed he was hiding it well. It took a strong man to walk away.

"I respect Nami" Chopper spoke up softly as Luffy helped him out of the ground. The reindeer was suddenly concerned that he had done something wrong. If spying on her that time was a bad thing then why was it okay for him to share the bath with her and Robin?

"Some how I don't think he meant it like that Chopper" Usopp said quietly, cautious so as not to let the swordsman hear him.

Nami knew what Zoro meant and she appreciated it. He was worried about her yet too stubborn to speak his mind clearly. He was always a man who saw women as equal and not special. He had no hesitation to attack a woman that was an enemy or threat and he distrusted them even less. Yet he also went out of his way to protect those weaker than himself. It had taken a long time for both her and Robin to have gained his trust, but once gained he was a true friend worth keeping.

Out of all the men in the crew Zoro had never reacted to her in the same way the others had. He showed no interest in gazing on her body or falling for her tricks. She thought about what he said and wondered if the conversation had been about Robin or some other woman if the swordsman would have spoken up in the same way. The way in which he said what he did just then and how tense he was made her wonder if there was more to this. She had always thought that he saw her in a different light, like someone he was appalled at for tricking people and using her body to flirt and get what she wanted from others. Yet admitting he respected her meant that she must have been wrong. He didn't see her that way at all, or at least something had happened to change his mind about her. The thought suddenly caused her to smile to herself.

Sanji sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't sure why he had allowed the moss idiot to get to him so much but he knew, like most things, it would blow over quickly. He decided that he needed to get some fresh air and stood up, "I think it's time for a short break. I will get some drinks together" he said, standing up and brushing ash from his clothing.

"I will help!" Chopper offered.

"Sanji, can I have more meat?!" Luffy asked, jumping up and suddenly forgetting the fact that his friend had almost insulted him. The others followed the cook towards the main kitchen/hall of the castle to help themselves and stretch their legs. Everyone followed, except the navigator and swordsman.

Zoro watched Nami carefully as she sauntered over to him slowly. She had a hand on her hip and another on her chin, wearing a thoughtful expression. Her hips moved from side to side with ease and her long hair swayed around them. She stopped as soon as she reached him. He did not break eye contact with her and fought the urge within him to glance down, even if just a little. Nami sat on his lap and placed a finger under his chin, lifting his head to look at her. He did not move an inch but the moment he met her gaze he found himself having to fight back an urge. She looked down at him and smiled. He remained cautious and his body tensed.

"So, I am beautiful and you respect me huh?" she said teasingly. His ears went pink and he turned his gaze away from her and to his drink. He went to lift the tankard to his lips and a slender hand stopped him.

Nami pushed the hand that held the drink back down onto the table and let her hand slowly trace over his and run up his arm. She could feel his muscles tighten at her touch. She smiled and said; "You know, Zoro, if I didn't know better I would think you liked me" she studied his facial expression carefully, looking for an indication as to whether her suspicions were right or wrong.

Zoro let go of the tankard and placed both of his hands on Nami's waist. He had to ignore the fact that her skin felt soft and a little cold. Biting his tongue he slowly lifted her up and off him, standing her on her feet as he rose from his seat. "Don't play games with me Nami" he said, clearly cross, before letting go of her and walking in the direction of the others.

She stared at him with a stunned expression, which soon changed into a grin. "Who said I was playing?" she replied.

Zoro stopped in his tracks momentarily and half turned his body around to look back at her. She leant against the table he had been sitting by and picked up his drink. Raising it to her lips she took a swig of the liquid while continuing to watch him carefully. Her eyes sparkled mischievously. She walked up to him and pushed the tankard into his chest. He instinctively caught it with a hand before she let it go. She smiled and winked at him then continued to walk past all too aware of an eye gazing at her hips as she sauntered off.

Zoro stood there for a moment a little shell shocked by what just happened. He glanced down at the object in his hand and saw the faint mark of lip stick on one edge. He ran his thumb over the mark and smudged it. He was not sure what Nami was trying to do or what she was thinking, but one thing was certain; she made his heart race and he knew that if he wasn't careful around her he would be eaten alive.

…

After the straw hats had a break and some fun to blow of a little steam they decided to remain in the great hall as it was warmer and gathered around the large table to continue their tale. Luffy sat at the head of the table with Shirahoshi to his right and Usopp to his left. Sanji took pride position next to the princess and Robin. Zoro sat next to the archaeologist with the cyborg to his right. Chopper sat next to Usopp and Brook, leaving Nami to sit in front of Zoro. He suddenly felt a little relieve that she was not too close to him. They were soon joined by their other new fish man friends, Hachi, Caimie and Pappagg. The former made a heap load of Takoyaki and Luffy was in his element. Usopp and Chopper had filled the other three in briefly on what they had been talking about and they sat in awe, ready to learn more about the people that saved them more than once.

"I noticed that Vivi is not with you all…does this mean she chose to stay with her kingdom?" Shirahoshi asked. The princess did not expect the younger straw hats to suddenly seem so low in their mood. "I'm sorry, was it something I said?"

"Ignore them. They are just glum still that Vivi chose her people over them" Zoro informed her in his usual careless tone.

"You can be so cold sometimes!" Chopper snapped at Zoro.

"She didn't choose, we are still her friends!" Luffy announced as he took as many small dough like balls as Hachi's eight arms could muster.

Zoro shrugged as if to say, _whatever. _

"Three swords!" Luffy muttered.

"Luffy, I told you then and I will tell you again…that isn't an insult" Usopp instructed.

Nami decided to move the topic on, "Because of the marines closing in on the kingdom we had to leave in the middle of the night. We had a plan to meet Vivi on the eastern coast the following day. By then she had made her decision. Although she wanted to be with us, she had been away from her people for too long as it was and wanted to help them heal from the effects of the rebellion".

"It must have been hard for her" Shirahoshi agreed. She knew she would also miss this group of pirates she had come to think of as her friends. It was a thought she purposely pushed back in her mind, telling herself she would face it when the time came.

"Alabasta is back to being a thriving centre of trade. They have still got a lot to do but the people seem to be a lot happier now" Nami said thoughtfully.

"Hey how do you know that?" Luffy asked.

"Because I read Luffy…you know you should try it some day" she retorted. They had almost forgotten that Nami regularly purchases a newspaper and reads up on the events occurring across the world. She was smart for doing it. Although a lot of the media could twist and lie about things, she was able to see through to the facts and take what information she could that she knew would be beneficial for them. They had to admit, if it was not for Nami and Robin doing their research they would not have been as prepared for things as they had been.

"When you left Alabasta where did you end up next?" Caimie asked eagerly.

"Well…it wasn't an easy goodbye. We had the marines hot on our tail. If not for Mr 2 Bon Clay and his crew acting as a diversion and saving our ship, we wouldn't have made it out easily" answered Sanji.

"He sounds like a kind friend" the princess replied.

"Well it was then that we discovered we had a stowaway" Nami said with a smile, looking over at her female friend who sat opposite her.

"I had been waiting for the right moment to appear. I knew that if I turned up while you were saying goodbye to Vivi or fleeing from the marines that it may give the wrong message and act as a distraction. So I bid my time and waited until the coast was clear" Robin explained. "But as I recall you did not all welcome me with open arms. Zoro and Nami tried to attack me with their weapons."

Nami and Zoro looked at one another briefly. Nami ran a hand through her long hair with a little innocent smile appearing across her face. Zoro recalled that moment well. Luckily in the end Robin ended up being a good person because at that time the crew accepted her too willingly. He knew she could be trouble and he wasn't far from the truth.

"I wanted Luffy to take responsibility for saving my life and refusing to let me die. I figured I didn't have much else to lose anymore. With the ponyglyph in Alabasta being a disappointment and with Crocodile turning against me, I no longer had anywhere to turn to. I couldn't stay in Alabasta…I was their enemy. So, Luffy became my last hope." Robin explained.

"Hmph, if I remember correctly you are the only member of this crew that asked to join" Zoro announced.

"Yeah, Luffy was quick to accept you in the group considering you were fighting against us" Nami replied.

"You are one to talk Nami. You and Usopp were both quick to change your minds and welcome her with open arms" Zoro recalled. She was bought far too easily. Nami was the type who would sell her soul and everyone else's to the devil if the price was right.

"Robin hadn't known us long but had already figured out what I liked, which is more than most of you idiots did when we first met" Nami tried to defend herself. Yet it was a little pointless as she was just as easily read as most of them. Nami loved money as much as Luffy liked meat and Zoro booze.

"Zoro was the only one to distrust sweet Robin" Sanji informed the mermaid.

Shirahoshi looked at the swordsman. He did seem to be fearsome and sensible. She didn't blame him for not trusting Robin at the time. After all she had supposedly killed Pell, Igaram and helped destroy an entire country. Yet even learning that she was just using Crocodile to try to reach her dream and that she had not actually killed anyone, was clearly not enough for the man. She could tell he was the type who needed more proof than that. To Zoro, actions spoke louder than words.

"Well it was around this time that a gigantic galleon fell down from the sky!" Usopp announced. Franky and Brook looked at him and were not sure if he was exaggerating again or not. Franky gazed at Robin with a raised eyebrow and a thumb pointed in the sharp shooters direction as if to question what he had just heard.

Robin smiled, "Usopp is telling the truth. That is exactly what happened." Franky's expression seemed shocked.

"Thanks to Robin we managed to learn that the ship was over 200 years old and from South Blue. I thought the log pose was broken back then but Robin told us to not be narrow minded. It was Robin who encouraged us to explore the possibility that the ship fell from an island in the sky…" Nami added.

"Those salvaging outfits Usopp invented were pretty good" Sanji admitted. "Luffy, Zoro and I went down to the ocean floor to search the wreckage of the ship" he explained, as his first statement got some confused looks.

"I wish I could have seen it" Franky spoke up.

"Ship wrecks are creepy" Caimie said to no one in particular. She shivered and rubbed her upper arms with her hands.

"Well, while they were exploring we tried to occupy the attention of Masira and his salvaging crew" Usopp added, "Luckily the guy was as stupid as he looked and had a thing for Nami so we easily mislead him."

Zoro looked over at the red head. He had to admit it did not surprise him. Her looks then were one thing, her looks now….

"That's when the giant turtle ate Luffy, Zoro and Sanji!" Chopper announced, "We were so scared…Nami told us to cut the air pipes to prevent us being pulled into the ocean with them!" he accused.

Zoro glanced at Nami with a scowl and she looked his way with an '_it wasn't my fault, please forgive me', _type of gaze. Why didn't the doctor's statement surprise him at all?

Nami shrugged, "I knew they would be okay. They have come out of worse."

"Liar!" Usopp and Chopper announced at the same time.

"It didn't matter anyway. The guys fought off the Gorilla and got out safely" she retorted. Usopp couldn't help feel how convenient that was for her at the time.

"That's when the sky went black" Robin announced.

"And the giant shadows appeared!" Luffy recalled.

"Thanks to Robin stealing an eternal log pose we managed to find our way to the island of Jaya" Nami confirmed. She looked at her female friend and smiled, "Robin, you still remain the only person I can truly rely on and that understands me!" Robin responded with a little giggle of her own. She had spent some time observing the straw hats before joining their crew and it wasn't difficult to see what made each of them tick. She had determined that Sanji would do anything for an attractive woman. Usopp was a coward and a loud mouth. Chopper was sweet and easily mislead. Luffy was gullible and Nami could be bought with money. Zoro was the more difficult member of the crew to fully understand at the time and she knew full well he did not trust her and she would have to play it safe. However, as time went on and she got to know the crew she realised that her first impressions had been wrong. Chopper, Usopp and Nami all acted scared but showed bravery when they needed to and each fought to protect their friends despite the odds against them. Luffy, Sanji and Zoro each showed a bravado that appeared strong on the outside but they had soft spots within, too.

"I didn't like the town of Jaya" Chopper announced.

"Why not?" the princess asked, curious to learn more about places she had never been to.

"It was full of pirates and was a complete dump" Nami explained. "I followed after Luffy and Zoro to make sure they didn't get into any trouble, but they seemed to attract it nevertheless."

Luffy turned to look at the swordsman and said, "Hey do you remember the guy that fell off his horse?"

"Yeah what about it?" Zoro replied.

"He was funny!" Luffy laughed.

"Like hell he was! You guys fell for his trick too easily. Luckily you didn't eat an exploding apple!" Nami shouted.

"Eh?!" Chopper, Usopp, Caimie and Hachi said at the same time.

"Oh yeah…you guys came back to the ship that time pretty messed up. What happened?" Sanji asked. They had been a bit evasive at the time about it and Luffy played it down, but Nami had been incredibly upset about whatever it was and he was keen to understand more.

Nami looked from Luffy to Zoro and back again, "Do you want me to tell them?" she asked, not knowing if it was something she had the right to discuss, despite having been part of it all.

"There is nothing much to tell" Zoro shrugged. "We ran into some pirates who shouted their mouths off and told us we were stupid for following our dreams. They laughed at us when we asked for directions to Sky Island. Luffy and I didn't see the point in fighting people that weren't even worth our time."

Nami looked at the swordsman with a frown on her face. She was not happy with how he just brushed it all off like that. Bellamy and his men ridiculed them. She had never been as embarrassed in her life as she was at that time. It was bad enough that she didn't fully believe in the myth herself but to be treated so disrespectfully…and then for Luffy to order Zoro not to fight…It was unbearable to watch. She couldn't understand it. They could have easily won. Yet at the same time she refused to leave their side. She had been scared of what would happen to them and to her. When they offered to buy her it made her skin crawl. Those guys were the type to do whatever they wanted and she would be damned if she let a single one of them touch her. She remembered telling them she was worth more than they could afford. Luckily her attitude won them their freedom. As she picked up her two friends and pulled them out of the bar she couldn't help but feel cheated and violated. She knew why they had done it but still wished they just showed those guys what they were made of. Yet it was the presence of Blackbeard that made her no longer feel ashamed…Nami suddenly sat upright as she remembered something.

"Hey Luffy…that was when we first met Blackbeard!" she announced.

"That fat guy that chased us on a raft?" Sanji asked.

Luffy's expression changed to one of anger. He knew that even if he had known who the man was at the time he wouldn't have been able to defeat him. Blackbeard had picked a fight with him in the bar and he was ready to go for it, but the man backed down easily thanks to the bar tender paying him off with cherry pie. When Nami dragged them outside after Bellamy's men threw them out, it was Blackbeard that cheered them on. He believed in them and told them to not give up on their dreams. Luffy was not sure what to make of the man at the time. He had stood and watched him carefully, but sensed something dangerous. He and Zoro could detect that he was not alone. It wasn't until much later he would learn just how powerful and dangerous this man was or that he would become his nemesis.

"I knew from the moment we met him that guy was bad news" Zoro spoke up. He did not like the feeling that the big ape gave him but also knew that after the beating he and his captain just took they were in no condition to fight. Besides, they were clearly out numbered and he didn't want to put Nami at risk of harm. It was bad enough that Bellamy's men wanted her for themselves. Blackbeard was right about something though…Nami had nerves of steal to stand up to those guys the way she did. He had to feel a little proud of her that she didn't just abandon them.

The atmosphere suddenly seemed a little tense as the three sat in silence for a moment remembering the events of that time.

"Um…well…I guess that is when you guys returned to the ship" Usopp tried to move the subject on.

"Yeah Nami was pretty angry and upset…it was scary!" Chopper said in a rush.

"Hey, you would have been to if you had just seen two people you care about having the crap beat out of them!" she protested. Zoro did not miss the fact she had just admitted to caring about her friends.

"Blowing up the town or beating those guys wouldn't have achieved anything" Zoro explained, "so let it go". He hated to see her riled up over something that was ancient history, it was annoying.

Nami turned on him, "how can I let it go?! What if they didn't give up? What if they had killed you both? What would we have done then? Did you ever stop to think about anyone else?!" clearly the memory had wound her up again and Chopper and Usopp hid behind Franky as the demon side of their navigator showed once more. It seemed like two years apart hadn't calmed her down at all.

"None of that matters now," Zoro sat up in his chair and leant forward, resting his arms on the table. Nami gritted her teeth and turned to look away from him. Stupid idiot didn't understand her feelings at all.

"What you both did was pretty noble" Franky spoke up, trying to reassure their navigator. "You won the fight without throwing a punch. A brave decision to make."

"Hmph!" the red head still didn't seem to want to accept it. Zoro watched her childlike anger and grinned to himself. He couldn't help but think she seemed a little too cute at that moment.

"Well thanks to Robin-chan we managed to get a map of Jaya and learnt about the old man Cricket." Sanji changed the subject and all eyes turned from their navigator onto him.

"That's also when we ran into Sojo…Masura's brother…his sonar nearly destroyed the Merry!" Usopp recalled their encounter with the salvagers. Those men were definitely weird looking, like two giant monkeys, but they had guts and skill.

"We sailed to the other side of Jaya and found half a building with some giant wooden cut out of a castle stuck on one side." Sanji explained.

"Yep, and that's when we learnt about the story of Noland the liar and the city of gold!" Usopp proceeded to tell the princess, cyborg, octopus, star fish, skeleton and mermaid about the story, how they met old man Cricket, his diver's disease, and his relation to Noland and his gold. Not to mention how he was willing to help them out and guided them towards Skypiea. He left Nami to fill in the blanks about the log book and the large dense black clouds which had been petrified for centuries. She also filled the others in about the knock up stream and the fact it was a geothermal event…even after the second time of hearing it some of the others switched off. Shirahoshi seemed amazed and confused at the same time. Luffy just reassured her and said each time that it was a 'mystery' something or other.

"Chasing that bird was a damn pain!" Sanji remembered their night in the woods.

"Yeah…I never realised you were so scared of spiders though" Usopp announced. Sanji's skin started to crawl.

"I hate fury bugs like that" he said. His statement caught the others attention.

"You mean to tell me there is something that you can't stand that Usopp can handle?" Zoro asked with a grin, suddenly glad to have something over the cook. Bugs have never bothered him. Sanji glared at him and then at Usopp for letting the cat out of the bag.

"Well thanks to Robin we managed to catch one of the birds. But when we got back to the old man we found them collapsed. Bellamy and his goons had fought them and stolen their gold while we were gone" Nami added, cutting through the tension between the blonde and green haired men yet again.

"So what did you do?" the mermaid princess asked. Her heart was racing in anticipation.

"Well our captain here decided to run off on his own. He went and fought Bellamy and came back with the gold, although forced us to go behind schedule!" Nami announced, pointing an accusatory finger at Luffy.

"I made it back didn't I?!" he asked defensively.

"You went bug catching!" Nami snapped.

"The Hercules is rare!" he defended himself.

"So rare and important that you gave it away!" she retorted.

"Hey Luffy…if you had time to go searching for bugs, I take it the fight with Bellamy ended quickly?" Usopp asked.

Luffy nodded and grinned, "Yep…he bounced all over the place with his spring spring powers, boasting about how I was a fool for dreaming. So I punched him"

"What, just one punch?" Usopp asked. Luffy nodded.

"Didn't he have a 50 million bounty?" Nami asked.

"Well, all I know is he went down pretty easy. I grabbed the gold then headed back" Luffy shrugged. Usopp and Nami sat with their jaws dropped. Zoro, Robin and Sanji laughed as Chopper commented on how amazing Luffy was.

Nami couldn't believe it. She had been worried about why he was late and if he was hurt. She even argued with Zoro for not going with him. The swordsman had been annoyed with her indecisiveness and told her to shut up, which she had not taken down very well. She remembered that he had told her she was nothing but a thief and how irritated she had become with him for thinking the Merry should be a pigeon or something instead of a chicken. The fact the ship looked stupid hadn't even crossed that moron's mind.

"Sounds like an idiot" Franky spoke up, talking about Bellamy.

"Yoohoo, our captain is easily underestimated" Brook agreed.

"Well once the ship was ready we headed out to find the knock up stream" Usopp announced.

"The South Bird was so cool!" Luffy remembered teasing the bird and making its head change position for it only to ping back into place again.

"It really was a natural compass…unlike some people we know" Nami teased the swords man, he just glared at her and ignored the statement. She grinned back at him.

"Well the two brothers helped us reach the whirlpool…we had no idea what we had signed up for at the time. We had to sail straight into the middle of it!" Chopper explained. He remembered how scary the whole experience had been. Even Nami and Usopp tried to convince their captain to reconsider, but as Zoro had pointed out at the time, it was far too late for that. Besides, once his mind was set on something Luffy would never change it.

"That's when Blackbeard and his men came for our bounties" Zoro cut in. "They had risen quite a lot" Luffy and he both smiled at the fact.

"It is not something to be proud of!" Nami snapped.

"We all have one now…do you think they will get higher when word gets out that we have returned?" Chopper asked softly with some concern in his voice.

"Most likely bro" Franky spoke up.

"Yoho, I look forward to giving them a better photo" Brook announced.

"I will be happy if they never recognise me!" Nami muttered.

"It will be interesting to see what lies ahead" Robin pitched in.

"Not you too Robin?" Nami whined.

"Don't worry Nami…I am with you on this!" Usopp reassured his friend.

"Hey Usopp, you don't have a wanted poster yet do you?" Luffy asked. Usopp immediately lifted his hand to his head and scratched it, sweat pouring from him.

"Um…well…no" he said. The older members of the crew shared knowing looks.

"You mean he still hasn't figured it out after all this time?" Zoro asked Nami quietly.

"Clearly not" she replied, with a sigh.

Robin changed the subject, "Well, luckily for us the stream came when it did as it kept Blackbeard at bay" Nami nodded in agreement.

"Nami-san was so incredible!" Sanji swooned. "She felt the change of the current beneath us and bravely guided us up the stream and onto the White Sea!"

"Nami is the best navigator in the world" Luffy complemented her. Nami couldn't help but smile at his remark.

"That's why we picked her" Zoro spoke up. She looked at him and he grinned her way. She couldn't help but blush. It was rare for him to complement anyone.

"What was it like, up in the sky?" Shirahoshi asked, eager to hear more as her imagination ran wild.

"It was pure white…a sea of clouds that went on forever. So fluffy and soft" said Luffy.

"It was difficult to breathe at first though, took some time to adjust" Sanji acknowledged.

"We almost lost Usopp" Zoro recalled.

"Who knew that the sea wouldn't have a bottom to it?" Usopp sighed.

"The monsters were still as big as the sea monsters though. The only difference is some of them were full of air" Sanji continued.

"There were all sorts of sky fish, too" Robin explained, "they had adapted to the climate. It was quite remarkable."

"Sounds heavenly" Franky said, studying the genuine smile on the archaeologists face as she recalled what the place was like. He could tell by looking at her that she had genuinely enjoyed herself while she was there. He couldn't help but feel a little envious of them all and wished he could have seen the place, too. He looked forward to more opportunities however, to see that smile more often.

"That's when we met the raider and the sky knight!" Chopper suddenly became excited. He started to explain their encounter with Gon Fall and Pier and the whistle that had been given to them. Usopp then continued to describe their discovery of the island clouds, their encounter with the cheating old woman and their landing on Skypiea, otherwise known as 'God's land'.

"God's Land?" Franky asked, sceptical.

"Yes. We didn't know what to make of it at the time either, but in the end it turned out that it was just a man pretending to be god. Eneru used his devil fruit powers of thunder to strike fear into the people. The sky knight was the true leader of them all" Robin explained.

"I see" Franky scratched his chin.

"What were the women of Skypiea like?" Brook asked, focussing his question on the cook.

"They were like angels!" Sanji sighed, "They were beautiful and had wings on their backs" he recalled Conis, the girl who helped them.

"The men had wings, too!" Usopp muttered.

"I wonder how Conis and her father are doing now." Chopper asked.

"I am sure they are fine." Nami said.

"Do you think we will ever see them again?" Chopper continued.

"Who knows" Zoro spoke up. Anything was possible with their captain.

"So what happened next? How did you meet Conis?" Caimie asked. She recalled her first encounter with the straw hats and how they had saved her. She had been scared of them a little at first but soon got used to their kind nature and weird behaviours. She wondered if Conis was saved by them to.

"Well, we came to a shore and set anchor. We were exploring the land when Conis arrived" Nami explained. She recalled how reliable Zoro had been at that moment. Luffy and the others were so quick to jump over board that they would have left the Merry drifting. Zoro had thought ahead and lowered the anchor. He had his moments she guessed. She had jumped off the ship to join the others and tried to coax Zoro and Robin into following her and having some fun. Besides, it wasn't very often they got the chance to relax.

"Hmm yeah that's when I found that fox" Zoro muttered to himself.

"and I discovered the waver" Nami smiled.

Luffy's face suddenly became irritated, "It's so not fair that you can ride that thing in the sky and on the sea and I can't!" he complained.

"You still haven't let that go? Stop being a child" Usopp scolded their captain, "Nami is better at reading the ocean and the weather than anyone, so it is only expected that she has talent in that area!"

Robin grinned at the memory of Luffy being such a stubborn child. She was glad to see that not much had changed. He was so strong and always won where others failed, yet something as small as that wound him up so much. Franky looked at the raven haired woman opposite him and smiled. "I have to say it was a pretty impressive device" he agreed, glad to know something they were talking about. "I would have liked to have seen boats from there" he added.

"Their boats relied heavily on dials" Usopp explained.

"Dials? What are they?" Hachi asked.

"Well I am glad you asked!" Usopp announced. He stood up and took a couple of shells out of his bag and demonstrated them. First he used a Breath Dial which recorded voices. The princess was impressed with the device and held it close to her as she recorded some of their conversation. He then shared a flavour dial with them and recorded the Takoyaki into it. Hachi was surprised that a shell was able to do such a thing and he lived in the ocean!

"Mmm that makes me hungry!" Luffy said.

"You are always hungry!" Sanji snapped back. He guessed that even without a rubber stomach their captain could eat a planet.

Shirahoshi and the others listened closely as Usopp explained the different types of dials, what they did and how the bigger ones could have more of an impact.

"Hey Usopp, isn't that what you used to develop Nami's weapon?" Zoro asked, more interested than usual. After all, he had a thing for weapons.

"Um, yes" Usopp replied, "Nami's climatact contains a combination of some of these. I had to make some adjustments off course." He continued to boast.

"I have to say it is pretty powerful compared to the first model" Nami agreed.

"I loved the clouds, they were so soft and relaxing" Chopper sighed, interrupting the others.

"Although if Nami hadn't have gotten lost we wouldn't have ended up in so much trouble" Robin pointed out.

"Hey! I wasn't lost!" Nami protested.

"Yeah but you went somewhere you shouldn't have. You had everyone worried" Zoro scolded her. He never let it show back then but he was worried about her, too.

"How was I supposed to know that Upper Yard was so dangerous and scary!" she snapped. She remembered finding the broken ship and the pirate that ran for his life, begging her for help. Then a beam of blue light came down and killed him instantly. She was lucky to make it back alive.

"Still, it didn't stop Luffy from becoming all sadistic and wanting to go to the island despite Conis telling him it was off limits" Sanji pointed out.

"Yeah, he has a tendency to want to do the complete opposite of what he is told" Usopp sighed.

"He wasn't even interested in saving Nami, he just wanted to do his own thing" Sanji added.

"Is that right?" Nami asked with a hint of anger to her tone as she looked at their captain who was oblivious to most things.

"It shouldn't be a surprise. Since when have any of us been able to stop him?" Zoro asked. They all understood. Luffy was officially one of the most stubborn and selfish people they had met. Yet it was his nature that made them love him so much.

"Well, while we were trying to figure out a way to get to Nami the White Berets came to us and started declaring loads of laws we had apparently broken" Sanji moved on.

"I tried my best to stop these guys getting into trouble but it seemed that even when we did nothing they found an excuse to charge us" Usopp explained. "Even though we could have still made it out okay if Nami didn't arrive and run the waver into their captain's face."

"They were trying to con us. I mean, honestly, trying to charge over 7 million Beli. Who did they think they were?!" Nami retorted.

"It was quite a shot" Zoro acknowledged. He had to admit that Nami's true strength seemed to come out when she was angry. He had been surprised of her actions back then but glad for it. If she hadn't of hit the man he definitely would have.

"Well because of you we committed a 5th degree crime and were sentenced to death!" Usopp exclaimed.

"It isn't like I didn't try to talk us out of it!" Nami snapped, "Besides, while they were busy taking the man to see a doctor we had the chance to escape!"

"Yeah, but then these morons decided to go ashore and get more supplies, leaving us to be taken by a giant lobster." Zoro spoke up.

Nami continued to explain what had happened and how Conis had been forced to lie to them to protect her and her father. Sanji continued by telling them about Conis helping him, Usopp and Luffy into the town and to their boat. There she confessed what she had done and the sky knight had managed to save them from the strike of lightning that came down upon her. With Conis safe the three men sailed on the crow to the entrance of Upper Yard.

"Those traps were so scary!" Usopp admitted.

"Yeah but we got through okay" Sanji added.

"You call that okay?! We were nearly killed 100 times over!" Usopp shouted. "Not to mention that stupid trial of spheres we had to go through!"

"Yeah that guy was a pain" Sanji confessed.

"His spheres could explode and were everywhere! He could even read our movements!" Usopp complained.

Luffy sat there thoughtfully, "oh yeah…that was that mantra thing…it was annoying, but once I had him pinned down he had no way to avoid our attacks"

"It was a good team effort" Sanji smiled and received a grin from their captain.

"Wow…so while you were fighting what happened to the rest of you?" the mermaid asked.

"Well, Zoro tried to defeat the lobster and was willing to sacrifice himself so the rest of us could escape…but didn't really think it through properly" Robin pitched in. Zoro scowled at her but she just returned it with a grin of her own. "Nami and Chopper didn't want to leave him on his own and we were being chased by more than the lobster. Going over board was pointless. In the end we got stuck on a sacrificial tower."

Nami recalled how worried she had been that Zoro was so willing to be left behind. As scared as she was she refused to leave him alone to fight. She may not be much help in a battle but she also wasn't someone who would give up a friend's life for the sake of her own. Besides, at the time she was a little envious of Robin and how calm she always seemed to appear. It made her look bad.

"We were surrounded by sky sharks!" Chopper spoke up, "I was so scared back then I fell down and was almost eaten by one! Zoro dove in to save me."

"Those things were a pain. They kept popping up all over the place." Zoro remarked.

"Yeah, you defeated it with your fist instead of your sword" Nami sniped.

"Hmph, I couldn't see properly in the cloud water, besides I didn't see you complaining" he retorted. They shared a look and Nami turned her nose up at him in response. He grinned at her reaction. After all, he had saved her from those things numerous times while they were there.

Nami was not happy to be reminded of how pathetic she was back then. She knew she had whined and complained a lot due to fear and Zoro had yelled at her more than once, clearly annoyed by her moaning. Yet not once did he leave her on her own. Nor did she want him to, despite what she said. She did feel she had to apologise to Robin though. It was so embarrassing to be so helpless. Robin had helped save her to and didn't complain once. She was envious of how the new member of their crew seemed to work so well with Zoro and he never once yelled at her.

"That's when you all decided to go and explore the island, leaving me behind!" Chopper spoke up, clearly a little upset at the memory.

"Sorry about that Chopper. If we had known how dangerous it was going to be for you we would have stayed" Nami tried to reassure him.

"Well, luckily I had the whistle and the sky knight came to save me and Merry from being a sacrifice" Chopper announced. He could still feel the fire burning his fur and skin as he tried desperately to put it out. He had been so scared and so worried about letting the others down. He was very grateful to them though when they returned and were happy with him trying to protect the ship.

Nami continued to explain how she, Robin and Zoro, found the other half of Crickets home and discovered that the island they were on was in fact Jaya.

…..

**A/N: Thank you all for reading. Sorry for the delay in getting this one out to you all. Being Easter now I have a lot planned this coming week so I probably won't get the next chapter out until next week at the earliest. **

**There were more ZoNa scenes on Jaya than I remembered! I thought that it might be interesting to make Nami a little jealous of her older friend. After all she was made to appear pretty pathetic on Skypiea and we all know that isn't the case with Nami. She didn't even fight anyone properly while on that island yet everyone else did. I felt for her not being able to show how strong she was. **

**Please review and let me know your thoughts! **

15


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own One Piece **

**Author's Note:**** Thank you for the feedback. Apologies for any errors made in the last chapter and apologies for the long delay. It has been a hectic month. **

**First Impressions**

**Chapter 6**

As Chopper sat and detailed to his friends what happened with him while trying to protect the Going Merry from fire and God's henchmen Nami sat back in her seat and thought about all the events leading up to that point. She had given a brief summary of what happened to please the group but she could still remembered it vividly.

*Flash back*

_Nami sighed in relief as Zoro appeared from the clouds and knocked the shark like monster to one side. She had panicked when he had not resurfaced after a while. She didn't know how deep the water went and if he would end up like Usopp almost did. It didn't help that Chopper also panicked and Robin commented on the fact they would see blood if he was injured. This only added to her fears._

_As the swordsman came back to the ship she realised his shirt was wet and he would need another one. She wasn't too sure why she went out of her way to find him one at that moment in time…after all, she could have sent Chopper into the men's room to get him something, but she suddenly thought it would be easier to do it herself. Well, she was in charge of washing the crew's clothing and mending them where needed. They had tried to set such chores so everyone was responsible for their own things or at least took it in turns to wash clothing, but it seemed that she and Robin were the only two who had a lot to choose from. The men were more than happy to wear the same thing more than once, well Sanji was an exception. However, even when left to wash their own items some of the guys failed miserably in their attempts and even the successful ones like Sanji and Brook, couldn't be trusted with the women's belongings. She had lost count of the number of times Luffy had shrunk items and Zoro mixed whites with coloureds, resulting in pink and grey concoctions. No, it was simply easier to do it herself. _

_She entered the laundry room and went to the basket which she allocated for him (Green for Zoro, Red for Luffy, Pink for Chopper, Blue for Franky, Yellow for Sanji, Purple for Robin and Black for Brook). She rummaged through the small pile and found a blue top she had not seen him wear very often. She picked it up and placed it to her nose. She sniffed it to check it was clean and dry. Although she was satisfied at the pleasant fragrance in her hands she hesitated a little and looked at the material more closely before walking out of the door, it felt good. _

_Nami stood next to their doctor and looked over the railing. Chopper was admiring how amazingly strong Zoro was. She couldn't help but comment on the fact that he hit the shark instead of cutting it. It was not like him to use his fists. Yet, she had to be impressed with the power of his punch. _

_She watched as he removed his wet top and squeezed the water out of it. Droplets of liquid dripped down his hair and onto his biceps. She found herself biting her lower lip and her heart skipped a beat. 'Damn it' she thought to herself, sucking in a breath through her nose. She suddenly became irritated at the physiological reaction she just had and threw the top down on his head, resisting the urge to shout 'cover it up!' _

_Robin broke the navigator's line of thought when she recommended that God wished to starve them to death. Just as she turned to say something the raven haired beauty turned her attention onto some old scripture on the wall behind them. Zoro then asked Chopper to fix the ship. His request suddenly caused Nami to be concerned. Where the hell was he going now?_

"_I'll go explore the land. We'll use this place as a gathering point" he said, putting the top over his head. "Luffy and the others will come looking for us. Isn't there an old saying, 'When you are lost stay where you are?'" he asked, looking up at her as if she was the fountain of all knowledge. _

_Nami's head throbbed. This idiot was bent on getting them all in danger. What was he thinking, wandering off into an unknown land where he could be struck by lightning at any moment? Staying still was a good idea, but Zoro was the worst person in history to rely on to stay put as he had NO sense of direction and was a magnet for trouble. Yet here he was trying to give them advice. "The one who should stay put is you!" she snapped. _

"_I want to meet God" was his reply. _

_Nami was exacerbated. She had seen what this God could do and she wanted no part in it. Why was he so pent up on putting himself in danger? Why couldn't he just stay there with them…with her? She shook the thought from her mind, a little surprised at why she thought of the last question. She became annoyed with the whole situation. She knew there was no changing his mind. Like their captain, when he was decided on something he had to see it through. He also hated being bored more than anything and she knew he was not the type to stay still for very long. Yet she couldn't help it, she had to try to convince him not to go and point out the risks involved. _

"_Sorry, but I don't believe in God" Zoro said with a smirk. His response gained awe from their doctor and disappointment from Nami. She wasn't too surprised with his response. This was the man who put everything on luck alone and looked forward to what the future had in stall. Yet, she also feared their current situation. If he wanted to throw his life away then that was his choice, but she chose to live and would do anything to see that through. _

_*End Flashback _

The red head glanced over at the swordsman and studied him for a second while he watched their little friend speak. She sighed to herself quietly. No matter what came their way this man would never change. Yet for some reason she found herself happy that he wouldn't. Zoro appeared aloof and intimidating at times yet was caring and knew how to have fun. He was competitive in nature, which was never a bad thing, and although stupid at times he could also be down to earth. Looking back she found herself grateful for his arrogance. After all, if not for his confidence and work ethic she would be dead several times over.

Zoro turned his gaze to his drink and picked up the tankard, swallowing a gulp of the fluid within. He caught Nami watching him from across the table with a thoughtful expression on her face. He raised an eyebrow and lowered his drinking vessel slightly, "What?" he asked. Nami blinked and sat back in her seat, shaking her head a little. She had clearly been lost in thought and the slight pink hue on her face indicated she may have been a little embarrassed at being caught. Zoro couldn't help himself, having found an opportunity to tease her a little. He leant forward and placed his drinking arm on the table, "Having dirty thoughts about me?" he asked with a grin.

Nami was surprised by the man's statement but was far from fazed by it. She could easily play that game. She stood up slightly and leant forward, being sure to make her chest bounce a little. His gaze did not waver and he kept watch of her facial expression. She knew that such subtle actions would not be picked up by this moron that easily so she reached out for a bottle of Sake and started to pour herself a drink. She held the beaker up to the green haired man and gestured if he would like some. He downed his drink with a wide grin and reached out his arm to indicate for her to fill it up.

Nami sat back in her seat and crossed her legs. She lifted her drinking hand and gave it a flick, as if to say 'cheers'. As she lifted her glass to her mouth so did the man before her. It was at that moment she reached out with one of her long legs and placed a foot on the man's thigh, tracing it up slowly.

Zoro immediately reacted and jumped up from his seat after practically choking on his drink when trying to prevent himself spraying it everywhere.

"Are you alright Zoro-san?" Brook asked. It was all Zoro could do to nod. Nami sat giggling to herself and he gritted his teeth. He really needed to be more careful around this fox. It took him a while after that to bring his emotions back in check. No matter how much he drank his body still felt warm.

…

Franky observed his friends as they all listened to Chopper's version of events and how he fought bravely to save the Merry. It was interesting to listen to and almost seemed like one of Usopp's far of tales. It was still hard to believe there was an island in the sky…and not just one of them as Nami had also been to Weatheria. Yet, he believed in many things and anything was possible. After all, it was their experiences in the sky that eventually brought them to Water 7. His encounter with the group had not been a positive one at first but Luffy had the power to change the minds of those around him. It was clear to the cyborg that Skypiea has been a turning point for Robin. Her time with the crew had made her feel welcome and had rekindled her dream. As the cyborg studied the smile on the raven haired woman's face he couldn't help but feel grateful to their captain for more than one reason. To think he was close to missing all of this due to his own stubborn pride and guilt.

Robin turned and caught the cyborg looking her way. When she returned his eye contact he did not avoid it. Instead he gave her a little wink. She was surprised and amused by his action. Naturally she smiled in response to him but at the same time wondered why he looked at her in that way. Robin was not a woman that saw herself as being stunning and did not use her looks to survive. Many men had given her looks and comments over the years, some trying to use her for their evil means, but she was stronger than they thought. No man ever managed to touch her without her permission. The only men that had managed to succeed were crocodile and the leader of CP9. Luckily Luffy had taken care of the former and Franky managed to protect her from the latter, along with the help of their sharp shooter. She was grateful to have friends that looked out for her and did not take her for granted. Franky really was gentle in his nature…her smile softened at the thought.

The voice of the princess soon broke everyone's thoughts "Weren't you scared of God's wraith?" Shirahoshi asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

Nami and Chopper looked at one another and the former sighed.

"Well, I was scared but did my best." Chopper highlighted, feeling pride in his memory of how brave he had been at the time.

"I was scared, too" Nami acknowledged, recalling her fear at the time and the number of times she had most likely screamed due to nearly dying or being eaten alive.

"You were braver than me" Chopper reassured her in his own way. "I couldn't have swung on that rope in fear I would have fallen in" he added.

"It is amazing what money can do to encourage a person" Robin said with a smile. Nami grinned sheepishly at her feline friend. She was right off course. Nami was only motivated to go with them in hope that she could find some treasure. Besides, she was reassured that she was with two of the strongest crew members who didn't seem phased by giant insects or monsters or anything out of the norm. That and she was curious to learn more about this strange land. She had felt a little guilty that they were leaving Chopper on his own but at the same time she knew that her staying wouldn't have necessarily helped him either. She would have been another hindrance and they weren't to know that the priests would make an attempt to attack and kill them all.

"I still think you would have been better off if you did the call" Zoro pitched in. The others looked at him.

"The call?" Franky asked curiously.

"Yeah, it goes; Ah_Ah_Ah" he demonstrated. Nami had a bead of sweat appear on her brow.

"That would never work!" she snapped.

"That sounds great!" Luffy seemed eager and Nami knew it was a bad sign.

"It was amazing" Chopper agreed.

The pair started to try to mimic the Tarzan like sound and were joined by their other male friends.

"It needs more Gusto!" Franky spoke up.

"Perhaps with a tune?" Brook pitched in.

Nami stared at them with a concerned expression, she spun on Zoro and said, "Look what you have started!" The swordsman just grinned and shrugged.

When the boys calmed down a little Sanji started to explain the fight he, Luffy and Usopp had against Satori, the orb Mantara Master and his spheres, which were full of various hidden obstacles.

"He sounds like a difficult opponent" Hachi pitched in as he approached the table with more of his delicious menu. Luffy and Chopper dove straight into it.

"He was a pain in the ass" Usopp grunted, "but he was no match for the great captain Usopp!" he finished.

Sanji ignored his younger friend and continued explaining their experiences, "Well, not long after that we ran into the Raiders and Wyper tried to warn us to stay out of their fight. Yet you know our captain, always has to get involved somehow…anyway, that's when the fight between the Priests and Raiders started and we all got caught up in the midst of it."

Sanji looked up at their navigator and slowly lit a cigarette, "We had split up into two teams again to explore and get the Merry to a safe place. Eneru tried to attack the Merry and proved stronger than we thought."

"Hey Nami…how did you get rid of him anyway?" Usopp asked, suddenly realising that he, the cook and the old man were incapacitated at the time.

"Eneru left of his own free will but two round guys took his place. Horori and Kotori. Luckily the knight was conscious and helped me. We also had the impact dial that Sanji had hit before." She explained.

It was rare that Nami had to fight to protect her friends but hearing her event made Zoro respect her some more. She could have run away, but she didn't. She may have been no match for them but she was willing to risk her life to save theirs. It turned out the woman before him had more guts than he had initially given her credit for when he first met her.

"How did you find the dial?" Usopp asked her curiously.

"It hurts!" Nami exclaimed, recalling the fact she thought her arm was broken.

"Where were you Luffy when this happened?" Camie asked their captain.

Luffy thought for a minute and swallowed a lump of food in his throat. "That Indian guy with tattoos on his face attacked me and sent me into a cave"

"It wasn't a cave moron, it was a giant snake!" Nami pointed this factor out.

"You were eaten alive?!" the mermaid panicked, despite the fact he was sitting right in front of her eyes or the fact that she herself had been eaten by sea monsters on numerous occasions and somehow managed to survive.

"I didn't know that at the time. It was dark. All I could see was gold…until Nami and Aisa were eaten too!" Luffy added.

"What were you doing to make the snake move about so much anyway?" the swordsman asked.

"I tried to dig my way out" Luffy announced.

"Luckily you weren't successful" Robin spoke up. "He was a good friend of Norman's after all"

Zoro scoffed as he remembered that time. He had worried so much that Nami had been eaten by a snake and blamed himself. Then it turned out that she had somehow managed to escape and his fear was in vain. To find out his captain was in the thing too was a surprise. He recalled feeling relief and horror and a little embarrassment at the fact she was okay but he served under such an idiot. If it had been him he would have just cut himself out, yet Robin's comment made him think that perhaps it was best he hadn't been eaten too.

"We all tried to make our way up the beanstalk to reach the golden bell, but Eneru stopped us" Robin explained, trying to move the story on.

"You guys managed to defeat him though" Franky pointed out, drinking some cola.

Robin shook her head, "For him it was like a game. He defeated all of us. Even Zoro"

This surprised their older and newest friends. Zoro was strong. At times he may appear to be second to their captain but he was fearsome in other ways. If it was a fight with swords, Luffy would no doubt lose.

The swordsman did not appreciate the looks his friends gave him and ignored them. Instead he closed his good eye and enjoyed more liquor.

"No one had a chance against his lightning strikes" Nami defended. "It wasn't like Zoro and Robin didn't try! Even Wyper, after using sea stone and impact dials, barely scratched him"

"Was his thunder ability stronger than yours?" Brook asked their navigator, finding it hard to imagine anything in nature so scary. Anyone at the table who had experienced her attacks all nodded.

"Luffy, being made of Rubber, was his only natural enemy. If not for that factor we would not be here today" Nami explained. She even doubted whether the way they were all now would still have a chance if their captain was not around…although with Zoro and Sanji's ability to use Haki it may give them more of an advantage than they had back then. He really was a horrible opponent; a man that did not care and saw people as ants and slaves to his crazy plan of ruling the world. He was full of greed and thought killing people a sport. Her skin crawled as she remembered his smile and laugh. She was so scared at the time, watching her friends fall one by one. Zoro for one would not give up and she couldn't bear to watch him suffer. The only reason she went with Eneru was because she knew she didn't have a chance. Her getting killed wouldn't help the others. She had planned to escape and try to get them to safety, but learning his true nature made her realise something within herself. Her friends were more important to her than anything else in the world. There was no point having gold if you couldn't share it with people you loved.

Nami explained to the group what happened while half of them were unconscious. She described Eneru's plan and how Usopp and Sanji saved her. She then detailed the fight she witnessed with Luffy and God, allowing for Luffy to give some of his own details too. When she finished there was a silence for a moment.

"Wow…to think you actually defeated a god" the princess exclaimed.

"He wasn't a god. He was just a man with devil fruit powers that tried to be something more," Zoro cut in.

"So what happened, did you manage to ring the bell?" Camie asked eagerly. The story about Norman had moved her tremendously.

Luffy grinned widely, "Yosh."

"Do you think they heard it?" Hachi asked.

"Yes" Luffy nodded, "No doubt about it," his friends smiled along with him.

Robin watched her captain talking and laughing with his friends. She recalled her feelings at that time. She had been very curious about him, the man with D in his name. She was curious to know what his relationship with Gold Roger had been. It wasn't until much later that she found out her answer, although the man before her was still oblivious to the truth. Yet she also knew he would not want her to tell him. After all, the whole point of an adventure isn't to get to the destination. It is the journey in between. Finding out new things was part of the fun. Luffy hated surprises or knowing things in advance and would rather discover it on his own. Besides, he had always said his friends were his family and he would protect them with his life.

"So what happened once you defeated him?" the princess asked.

"We partied!" Luffy said with a laugh, "Then we stole the gold from the snake and ran away!"

Usopp shook his head. His captain had a way of making their actions seem almost cowardice.

"You do realise captain that they were willing to give us an entire pillar of gold" Robin said with a smirk.

"WHAT?!" Nami shouted, suddenly worried about the fact that they could have ended up with more money than they did.

"We had enough, we didn't need more" Zoro spoke up, cutting her off and ignoring her glare, which turned to a saddened expression.

"But think of what we could have done with that money" she whined.

"It wouldn't have made a difference anyway" he retorted, looking over at the cyborg who suddenly appeared sheepish. After all, their friend, like Robin, started off as their enemy and stole from them.

"Zoro is right, we couldn't have fixed the Merry no matter how much we had" Usopp added, with a saddened expression.

"But how did you get down from the sky?" Camie asked, breaking the silence that fell upon the group.

"We flew!" Chopper announced.

In recollection of the memory their captain turned to look at Hachi and suddenly asked, "Can you blow up and fly?" the octopus looked at him slightly confused.

…

**A/N: It's a shorter chapter I know, sorry. I haven't had time to do it justice, but I hope you like it nevertheless. I also know that the Tarzan scene was not in the manga and only on the anime but I liked it so much I decided to add it. **

**Please let me know what you think. I hope I haven't missed anything vital out. **

**Thanks for reading **

7


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